Propose to build a separate salary scale for teachers higher than other industries

Kinhtedothi-On the morning of November 20, continuing the 8th Session, the 15th National Assembly discussed the Draft Law on Teachers in the hall. National Assembly deputies expressed their interest in salary policies, teacher protection regimes, and incentive mechanisms and policies to help teachers feel secure in their work and dedication.

Chairing the meeting, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh said that today, November 20, is Vietnamese Teachers' Day, and the National Assembly devoted the entire morning session to discussing the Draft Law on Teachers. This is the respect of the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee to generations of Teachers and the Education Sector - those who have made and will make great contributions to the glorious and noble cause of educating people.

Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh moderated the discussion. Photo: Quochoi.vn

"The National Assembly Standing Committee expresses its deep gratitude and best wishes to veteran teachers, National Assembly deputies who have been working in the education sector, and nearly 1.6 million teachers and education managers across the country," said the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly.

According to the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, the Draft Law on Teachers was first developed, with a fairly wide scope of regulation, involving the majority of civil servants who are teachers at public educational institutions, accounting for 2/3 of the total number of career staff nationwide, and the increasingly large number of teachers at non-public educational institutions, attracting the attention of many voters. The Government and the National Assembly Standing Committee have also repeatedly commented on the draft law. At the discussion session, there were also 90 comments from National Assembly deputies.

At the discussion session this morning, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh asked National Assembly deputies to pay attention to 8 issues raised in the Inspection Report of the Committee on Culture and Education, namely: State policies on building and developing the teaching staff; Rights and obligations of teachers; Professional standards for teachers; Recruitment, mobilization, secondment, and transfer of teachers; Salary and allowance policies for teachers; Support and attraction policies for teachers; Retirement regime for teachers; State management of teachers.

Lack of specific mechanism to prioritize teachers in specific professions

Participating in the discussion, delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (National Assembly Delegation of Tra Vinh province) said that, according to Article 27 of the Draft Law, the salary policy for teachers ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale and grade system is unclear, easily leading to different understandings and applications; preferential allowances for the profession are not attractive enough, especially for teachers working in remote areas, where socio-economic conditions are difficult.

Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (National Assembly Delegation of Tra Vinh Province) - Photo: Quochoi.vn

The delegate emphasized that the priority given to teachers in specific professions lacks a specific mechanism on the level of priority, making it difficult to implement the policy consistently. As a result, teachers do not feel assured about their income, especially in disadvantaged areas, leading to a shortage of teachers in these areas.

Based on that reality, delegate Thach Phuoc Binh proposed to build a separate salary table for teachers, ensuring a salary level that is clearly higher than other sectors in the public administration sector. At the same time, increase special job preferential allowances in disadvantaged areas, with an allowance rate of 50-100% depending on the specificity of each locality; clearly stipulate the priority level and implementation mechanism for teachers in special professions, ensuring fairness and efficiency.

Along with that, commenting on the policy to support teachers in Article 28 of the Draft Law, delegates said that this provision is still general about occupational health care and other policies are unclear about implementation and applicable subjects.

Therefore, delegates proposed to add more specific regulations on occupational health care policies such as: periodic health check-ups, free support for occupational disease treatment. Increase the mobility allowance and expand the scope of support for teachers on secondment or inter-school teaching, ensuring at least 50% of travel expenses.

Delegate Huynh Thi Anh Suong (National Assembly Delegation of Quang Ngai Province) - Photo: Quochoi.vn

Need to balance priority policies for teachers with other sectors

Also concerned about teachers' income, delegate Huynh Thi Anh Suong (National Assembly Delegation of Quang Ngai province) said that the lives of a number of teachers are still difficult, they cannot make a living from their profession, and have not received proper attention and protection from society.

Delegates suggested that there should be clear regulations on teachers' rights related to work, a safe and respected working environment. At the same time, regarding salaries and benefits, attention should be paid to the lives and incomes of teachers, especially preschool teachers and young teachers.

Delegate Tran Van Tien (National Assembly Delegation of Vinh Phuc Province) said that at Point d, Clause 1, Article 27 of the Draft Law on Salary and Allowances stipulates that teachers who are recruited and have their salaries increased by 1 salary level in the administrative career salary scale system for the first time. However, Article 18 of the Draft Law stipulates that for those who are recruited, have to implement the probationary, probationary or auditorial regime, the salary and allowance regime is not specifically regulated. Therefore, the delegate requested the drafting agency to study this regulation...

Delegate Tran Van Tien (National Assembly Delegation of Vinh Phuc Province) - Photo: Quochoi.vn

Regarding the policies to support teachers stipulated in the Draft Law, delegate Tran Van Tien said that the implementation of these support policies is only suitable for public educational institutions. The delegate wondered whether teachers in non-public educational institutions would enjoy these support policies, because "Otherwise, it would create an imbalance". Therefore, the delegate suggested that the drafting agency study this content to ensure fairness for teachers in society.

Delegate Duong Khac Mai (National Assembly Delegation of Dak Nong Province) proposed that the National Assembly thoroughly consider, balance resources, balance priority policies for teachers with other sectors, between this field and other fields, ensuring harmony and reasonableness. The delegate suggested that the highest salary in the salary scale must go hand in hand with the quality of teachers, because the importance and decisive role of the teacher system in improving the quality of education has a decisive meaning for the development of high-quality human resources, meeting the requirements of industrialization, modernization, and international integration.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/dbqh-de-nghi-xay-dung-bang-luong-rieng-cho-nha-giao-cao-hon-cac-nganh-khac.html