"Check teachers' income before exempting tuition for teachers' children"
This is the opinion of teacher Nguyen Thi Hen. Ms. Hen affirms that teachers' income is at a good level compared to society.
"For a long time we often say that teachers' salaries are meager, but is that really true? I think it's not straightforward to say that.
I retired in 2014, my current pension is nearly 9 million VND. Because many parents still trust me to send their children to extra classes, my income outside of my salary is about 6 million VND.
A teacher retired for 10 years, at the age of 66, still earns 15 million VND/month, higher than the overtime salary of a worker.
English teacher for Meo Vac students (Photo: Marie Curie School).
So how much does a teacher earn? How much does a teacher in urban areas earn, teaching in the center of big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City? How much does a teacher who teaches university entrance exams, 10th grade exams, and foreign languages earn?
That is something that needs to be fully and clearly surveyed before raising the issue of exempting tuition fees for teachers' children," Ms. Hen stated her opinion.
According to Ms. Hen, many professions in society have much lower incomes than teachers. Children from these families have fewer opportunities to study than teachers' children due to economic hardship and lack of attention, care, and investment in education.
Based on this reality, Ms. Hen believes that the tuition exemption policy should only be applied to specific subjects instead of applying it to professions. For the teaching profession, the policy should be applied to teachers in special circumstances, teachers in difficult socio-economic areas, teachers who are single mothers, single fathers, etc.
A high school chemistry teacher revealed that the monthly salary and allowances of teachers at this level range from 7-17 million VND/month. Actual income can be one and a half or double that figure when teachers teach extra classes or tutor for exams.
"This is a stable income compared to the general level of society. Therefore, exempting tuition fees for teachers' children is unnecessary, except in specific cases," the female teacher commented.
Policy to encourage teachers' spirit but will put pressure on the state budget
Education PhD Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen said that the proposal to exempt teachers’ children from tuition fees is a policy that shows respect for teachers. However, Ms. Huyen said that the policy is more about encouragement and sharing in spirit.
"Public tuition fees from kindergarten to high school are currently very low, ranging from over 100,000 VND to over 300,000 VND/month. Thus, calculated for each teacher, the amount of exemption is insignificant.
The burden of raising children to study in each family does not lie in tuition fees but comes from many other costs in and out of school such as parent funds, extracurricular activities, extra classes, etc.
However, the challenge to be solved with this proposal is the budget source. With an estimated figure of 9,200 billion VND/year, will exempting teachers' children from tuition fees affect the budget for other sectors? This must be carefully considered," Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen analyzed.
Ms. Huyen also emphasized that teachers’ children are not at-risk groups who do not have access to educational opportunities. Giving preferential policies to teachers’ children may reduce the learning opportunities of children in the risk group.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia - former Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University - assessed that the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children from kindergarten to university is a policy to provide additional support for teachers so that they can reduce financial worries and focus on education.
However, he said there are some things to consider when implementing, to avoid turning the policy into a privilege for teachers.
The former Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University also recommended balancing financial resources during implementation, to avoid a situation where a policy is issued but cannot be implemented.
On the other hand, he also expressed concern about whether this content will apply to teachers in general or only to teachers in the public system and to public schools.
Recently, on October 8, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its second opinion on the draft Law on Teachers.
The draft proposes that the State will pay tuition fees for biological and legally adopted children of working teachers from kindergarten to university. Based on the age of the teacher and the estimated age of the child, the amount of tuition fees that the budget must pay annually is about 9,200 billion VND.
The draft also proposes other preferential policies such as teachers who are ranked in the salary scale for the first time will be ranked one salary level higher in the administrative career salary scale system, the preferential allowance will increase by 10% for preschool teachers and 5% for primary school teachers.
High school teacher salary table from July 1 (Photo: Government).
According to calculations by the Ministry of Education and Training, if this plan is implemented, the additional cost to pay teachers' salaries will be about 12,816 billion VND/year.
Currently, the whole country has more than 1 million teachers receiving salaries from the state budget. From July 1, teachers receive the highest salary of nearly 16 million VND/month, depending on the level of education and rank.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/con-cong-nhan-dang-duoc-mien-hoc-phi-hon-con-giao-vien-20241009154029841.htm
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