As civil servants in the education and training sector but not teachers, they do not receive preferential allowances, seniority allowances, etc. Many school staff have low salaries and a very difficult life.
WORKING FOR 10 YEARS, SALARY NEARLY 8 MILLION VND
With a bachelor's degree in physics education, after taking the civil service exam 3 times (2 times for the teacher position but failed), Ms. HN (37 years old) was recruited as a school equipment staff at a high school in Tan Chau town (An Giang) and has been working there for 10 years. Ms. HN said that she also holds the role of treasurer, and at the beginning of the school year, she also helps collect health insurance premiums from students; she receives a monthly allowance of 25%. However, Ms. HN said that this allowance depends on the internal finances of each school. Many of her friends who are also school equipment staff at other schools do not have allowances; if they are in charge of school equipment for physics - chemistry - biology subjects, they receive a hazardous allowance equal to 0.2 of their basic salary.
Doctor Huynh Trung Tuan, a school health worker in District 11 (HCMC) joins the front line against the Covid-19 epidemic. School staff do not receive allowances like teachers, so life is still difficult.
"When I first graduated, my salary was more than 2 million VND/month," said Ms. HN. After 10 years as a civil servant, her salary coefficient was 3.34; from July 1, 2024, her basic salary was increased, so her basic salary was more than 7.8 million VND. Including allowances, her total monthly income is about 9.5 million VND. Her house is 40 km from school, she has elderly parents to take care of, Ms. HN is not married, so this amount of money is just enough for her to support herself and send back to take care of her parents. In addition, she is also studying for a second degree in accounting at a university.
"Many colleagues I know do not have the 25% allowance, only the basic salary, which means that when they first graduate, they earn 4,914,000 VND/month, and after 10 years of working, they earn about 7.8 million VND/month (not including social insurance). Those who have families, husbands and children, and have to rent a house have a very difficult life. Many of them, after working hours at school, have to go home to farm or sell online to earn extra income. Many people also wait for the recruitment of civil servants and teachers to take the exam to become teachers with higher income because they are entitled to preferential allowances and seniority allowances. Some of them have quit their jobs and switched to other jobs because the salary is too low," said Ms. HN.
"Every job position in school is important and requires effort. We hope the Ministry of Education and Training will pay attention, propose and increase work allowances for school staff, so that everyone can make a living from their jobs," she said.
Ms. KC, a librarian at a high school in An Giang, also shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters: "I have been in the profession for 15 years, and up to now, the salary of a librarian like me is the lowest compared to teachers who graduated at the same time as me, even though we work from Monday to Friday and are always present in assigned activities. Teachers have classroom allowances and seniority allowances, while employees only receive official salaries. For library staff, there is an additional hazard allowance, but it is not significant (from 0.1 to 0.2)."
According to the salary table of level IV librarians, newly graduated librarians have a salary coefficient of 1.86, equivalent to a salary of 4,352,400 VND/month. Level IV librarians who have worked for 15 years, if at level 6, will have a salary of 6,692,400 VND/month.
Ms. KC said she is married and has 2 children. With this salary, life is very difficult, the workplace is 17 km away from home. "My salary is only enough to support myself, save a little to buy milk for my children, the rest I have to rely on my parents and husband. I really want to study further, get a university degree to be promoted from a level IV librarian to a level III librarian, but the tuition is double my salary...", she said.
School health workers hold great responsibility in caring for, preventing epidemics, and ensuring the health of students, teachers, and school staff.
HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY, EXPECTING PROPORTIONAL REWARDS
Doctor Huynh Trung Tuan, a school health worker working in District 11 (HCMC), said that school health workers hold a great responsibility in caring for, preventing and controlling epidemics, ensuring the health of students, teachers and school staff. In particular, during the Covid-19 pandemic, school health workers also participated in the frontline of the fight against the epidemic. Before students return to school, school health workers are responsible for tasks such as disinfecting the environment, testing, isolating infected students, and preventing epidemics.
However, many units still have the mentality of underestimating the role of school health workers and think that this position can be held concurrently. According to Dr. Tuan, this is a completely wrong concept. On weekdays, if the school has a boarding kitchen, the school health worker must be present from 5:30 a.m. to check the food supply to see if the food is safe and hygienic. During working hours, in addition to being on duty as a health worker and handling accidents that occur in the school, the health worker also inspects school safety, preventing risks of unsafety from equipment, utensils, trees, etc. in the school; reminds students to sit in the correct posture to prevent spinal curvature, myopia; avoid dangerous playing, etc.
"In particular, when an accident occurs, such as a student choking on food or toys, or falling or being injured at school, a dedicated school medical staff - someone who is well-trained, has professional knowledge, and is regularly trained - will be calm enough to provide quick and accurate first aid while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, ensuring the safety of the student's life and minimizing future complications. For example, if a student chokes, if they are not qualified to provide first aid and clear the child's airway and are rushed to the hospital, the child will miss the golden time to save their life. Or a student with a spinal injury due to a fall, but improper first aid will cause more serious damage, possibly forcing the student to be in a wheelchair for life. As the saying goes, "feed an army for 3 years, use it for 1 hour", said Dr. Tuan.
Currently, according to regulations, school health workers are entitled to a maximum occupational allowance of 20% (the unit head will consider and decide based on the specific nature of the work and revenue). School equipment and library staff, if entitled to a hazardous allowance, will receive a 0.1-0.2 allowance. Cashiers are entitled to an allowance of 0.1. Accounting, clerical, and information technology staff do not receive allowances and only receive salaries according to their ranks. Ho Chi Minh City has some special incentives such as Resolution 08 on additional income for civil servants and public employees, but in provinces and cities, there is no such allowance, so the lives of school staff are very difficult.
Therefore, Dr. Tuan emphasized the need to increase allowances for school health workers in particular and school staff in general. This is humane and helps attract good human resources to the education and training sector, helping students and promoting the overall development of the sector. (continued)
Work extra chores to make enough money to raise children
With a medical degree, Ms. L.D is currently a contract medical staff at a secondary school in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. Including salary and boarding support,
canteen…, Ms. L.D.’s monthly income is about 7.9 million VND despite the large amount of work. To have enough money to pay for her 2 children’s education, she works as a cleaner in the evenings, earning an additional 4 million VND/month.
Ms. L.D.'s wish is that the district organizes recruitment for the position of school health worker so that she has the opportunity to be selected, receive allowances and special benefits for Ho Chi Minh City civil servants.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/luong-thap-nhan-vien-truong-hoc-mong-duoc-go-kho-185250101194324792.htm
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