Don't let the Law on Teachers be enacted in a way that makes things even more difficult for teachers.

Noting that the Law on Teachers is certainly eagerly awaited by teachers, General Secretary To Lam requested that the law truly honor teachers and genuinely create favorable conditions for those working in education .

On the morning of November 9th, speaking at the National Assembly 's group discussion session on the draft Law on Teachers, General Secretary To Lam sent his congratulations to teachers on the upcoming Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20th. The General Secretary also stated that teachers have high expectations for this draft law, and therefore, the law must be enacted in a way that truly inspires teachers, makes them feel honored, and creates favorable conditions for them to contribute.

The General Secretary emphasized the important position of teachers in education: "Teachers are the main subjects, playing a crucial role." However, the draft law must also address the correlational relationship between teachers and students in education and training.

General Secretary To Lam speaks at a group discussion on the draft Law on Teachers. Photo: Pham Thang

In the teacher-student relationship, according to the General Secretary , a crucial policy that needs to be addressed is universal education. The goal is to ensure that all children of school age attend school, encompassing preschool, primary, and lower secondary education. Further progress should lead to the elimination of tuition fees, with the state providing meals for school-aged children. Therefore, according to the General Secretary , the shortage of teachers cannot be tolerated.

"Then we can't say there's a shortage of teachers. Where there are students, there must be teachers. Through population data, we can immediately see how many children in each commune, ward, district, and city will be attending school. So, if there are students, we must proactively ensure there are teachers. How will the children attend school if there are no teachers? Whatever leads to the shortage must be addressed. And where there are students and teachers, there must be schools. We cannot plan and manage without schools," the General Secretary stated.

Noting that this is a very topical issue, the General Secretary emphasized that the relationship between teachers and students must be addressed. Where there are students, there must be teachers. Therefore, many policies must be included in the draft law.

According to the General Secretary , a teacher must be a scientist, possessing very deep expertise, but there can no longer be a law specifically for scientists, so everything must be reflected and summarized in this law.

The General Secretary also raised the question of how education, training, and teachers should integrate as the country enters the integration process.

"We recently announced the popularization of English in education. What level of English proficiency must teachers have for students to achieve this? Are there regulations here regarding foreign teachers? Do foreign teachers comply with Vietnam's Law on Teachers? These issues require specific policies," the General Secretary said.

According to General Secretary To Lam, it's not just foreign language teachers who need English skills; math and literature teachers also need them. These issues need to be considered and reflected in policy.

A view of the discussion in Group 1, morning of November 9th. Photo: Pham Thang

Another issue that, according to the General Secretary , needs attention is mobilizing the resources of teachers who have reached retirement age in the policy of building a lifelong learning society.

"Even the elderly are still learning. If teachers reach retirement age and are told they can no longer teach, it will be very difficult. We must encourage social participation and encourage older teachers to participate in education and teaching," the General Secretary said.

The General Secretary also noted the need to concretize policies in special educational environments to create favorable working conditions for teachers. For example, teachers in prisons, teachers in remote areas... In some mountainous places, teachers have to coax students to come to school, support their education, and make sacrifices.

Specifically for remote and disadvantaged areas, the General Secretary suggested paying attention to living conditions, building housing for teachers to create favorable living conditions and support family development. The education sector must have policies to encourage development in these difficult areas and consider on-the-job training, as these are currently the "lowest-lying areas" in education and training.

"I went to the mountainous areas and saw the difficulties. Students' homes are 20-30 km from the school, so how can they travel there every day? Boarding facilities are difficult, so students don't have a place to eat, sleep, and live, and teachers certainly don't either. How can things work out? Female teachers go to mountainous schools where there are no young men, only police officers and border guards. They spend their youth there, so how can they get married now? Even the soldiers and local police don't have official housing, so who will solve this problem?", the General Secretary shared. He believes that these very special places require specific policies.

Noting that the Law on Teachers is certainly eagerly awaited by teachers, General Secretary To Lam requested that the law truly honor teachers and genuinely create favorable conditions for them.

"Don't let the law be enacted only to make things more difficult for teachers," General Secretary To Lam emphasized.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-dung-de-luat-nha-giao-ban-hanh-ma-cac-thay-lai-thay-kho-khan-hon-20241109132227455.htm