On October 8, the National Assembly Standing Committee held a second meeting to give opinions on the draft Law on Teachers.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training, the drafting agency, proposed exempting tuition fees for biological and legally adopted children of working teachers. Based on the age of teachers and the estimated age of their children, the estimated expenditure is about 9,200 billion VND per year.

This draft has attracted public attention. Some people agree with the proposal because they think that we have long identified “education as the top national policy”, and there should be special privileges for teachers to encourage their spirit and help them feel secure in their work. On the contrary, some people think that it is possible to support teachers in difficulty, but it is not reasonable to include it in the law and exempt 100% of teachers’ children, because teachers are not special compared to other professions.

VietNamNet would like to introduce an article by a female teacher on this issue.

At the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed exempting tuition fees for biological and adopted children of working teachers. Some people think that this proposal is humane, shows the respect of society for the teaching profession and has the effect of encouraging teachers to continue to contribute to the cause of education. However, as a teacher who has worked in the education sector for 17 years, I completely disagree.

Exempting tuition fees for some students is a correct and meaningful policy, providing practical support for students in difficult circumstances so that they can go to school. These include students who are orphans, children of poor or near-poor households, disabled students, students in particularly difficult areas... If a teacher's child falls into one of the above cases, of course they are exempted from tuition fees, there is no need to discuss it.

As for exempting tuition fees for children of all working teachers, in my opinion, it has more harm than good.

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A teacher in a class with 12th grade students at Quynh Luu 4 High School, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An.

Firstly, if we talk about income, the reality is that in the system of civil servants and public employees receiving salaries from the State budget, teachers' salaries are generally not low. The living standards of the majority of teachers are also at the average level in society.

If the actual income of teachers is not commensurate with their labor or even not enough to live on compared to the general level of society, what needs to be done is to reform the salary system for all teachers, not just those with school-age children. The proposal to exempt teachers from tuition fees is a somewhat emotional solution and only solves the tip of the problem.

Second, if the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children is implemented, it will create a mindset that if parents work in a certain industry, their children will be given priority in that field. It is no coincidence that on social networks, when discussing this proposal of the ministry, some people commented: children of soldiers should also be exempted from military service, children of bank employees should be exempted from interest when borrowing money, children of doctors should be exempted from medical examination and treatment costs... This greatly affects the belief and will to strive of the younger generation.

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Teacher Nguyen Thi Ha and students at Quynh Luu 4 High School, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An.

Some people also argue that teaching is a noble profession, so there should be a special treatment for teachers. As a teacher, I have always believed that the career of educating people is very noble and teachers deserve to receive honor from society. However, honoring the noble profession of teaching does not mean that other professions are less noble.

President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed: "A chef, a street sweeper, as well as a teacher or an engineer, if they fulfill their responsibilities, are equally glorious." In society, any profession that is born comes from the needs of society and workers in any field contribute to the overall development of the country.

When considering teaching as a profession, equal to other professions, society will change its perspective on teachers. Instead of simply honoring them spiritually, social managers will create conditions to take care of teachers’ lives so that they receive treatment worthy of the value they create for society. At that time, teachers will feel secure in dedicating themselves to their profession.

Teaching is a noble profession, but it does not mean that everyone who is a teacher is a noble person. To become a noble person, the profession that each person is doing is just a starting point and we have to make efforts every day and every hour. A true teacher will never think that society must respect and honor them because they are a teacher, but on the contrary, they will always keep in mind that they need to try harder to be worthy of the respect of society for their profession.

To motivate teachers, instead of exempting tuition fees for teachers' children, I hope that managers need to conduct a comprehensive and objective survey on the level of work and contribution of the teaching staff in relation to other professions to build a suitable salary payment regime.

Nguyen Thi Ha (Quynh Luu 4 High School, Nghe An)

Proposal to spend 9,200 billion to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children: 'My child does not need exemption' A teacher shared that he does not need his child to be exempted from tuition fees and proposed that this should be applied to remote areas where teachers face many difficulties.