Improving the lives of teachers

A class of teachers and students at Tran Quoc Toan Primary School (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi). Photo: NTCC.

Good news on the first day of the year

The Hanoi Department of Home Affairs has just announced the approval of the results of the promotion examination and the list of officials who passed the promotion examination for the professional title of preschool and public primary school teachers in Hanoi in 2023. Accordingly, the number of officials who passed the promotion examination is 22,769. Of which, 13,106 are from the preschool sector, 4,847 are from the primary sector, 2,558 are from the secondary sector, and 2,258 are from the high school sector. The number of officials who did not pass the promotion examination is 125.

Previously, the Hanoi People's Committee approved the project to consider promoting teachers from Grade III to Grade II in 2023. Based on the records, there are 22,894 civil servants who meet all the conditions and standards for consideration of promotion to professional titles. The records for consideration of promotion are scored on a 100-point scale, in which the score for the criteria group on training and fostering standards is 20 points; the score for the criteria group on professional and technical competence standards is 80 points. Those who are determined to be successful in the consideration of promotion to professional titles must meet the following conditions: Have a complete record with evidence according to regulations; in the case of consideration of promotion from Grade III to Grade II, the record must be scored at 100 points.

According to the Hanoi Department of Home Affairs, the 2023 teacher promotion exam aims to continue to standardize professional title standards for civil servants according to the job position project of agencies and units; improve the quality of the teaching staff; contribute to improving the quality of education; ensure the rights of the teaching staff and effectively implement the city's socio-economic goals.

On the part of the Ministry of Education and Training, in 2023, it also consulted with the Government and worked with ministries and branches to solve issues related to the lives and jobs of management staff, teachers and workers in schools.

According to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc An - Chairman of the Vietnam Education Trade Union, one of the important proposals of the Ministry of Education and Training in the past year was to increase the number of staff in the education sector. Because the education sector is implementing the innovation of the 2018 general education curriculum and textbooks, there are many subjects and educational activities that require specialized teachers. In addition, the Ministry also proposed and included in the salary policy reform roadmap, according to which the highest teacher salary is prioritized in the salary scale of the administrative and career sector. The Ministry of Home Affairs, together with the Ministry of Education and Training, reviewed the regulations on salaries and incentives for teachers to increase them to the highest level.

Expect continued policy innovation

Talking to the press about the key tasks in 2024, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son emphasized that this year the whole sector will continue to implement the 2018 General Education Program and to successfully complete this task, it is necessary to deploy solutions to ensure a sufficient number of teachers, especially teachers teaching new subjects. Strengthening policies to support teachers; improving facilities and schools for areas with high demand. The Minister reiterated that Resolution 29 stated a very important content, which is "teachers' salaries are arranged at the highest level in the salary scale of the administrative sector" but in reality, there are still difficulties so it has not been implemented as desired. Resolution 29 also requires the budget for education to be at least 20% of the total state budget expenditure, but in reality, it has not been ensured.

"The Ministry of Education and Training will continue to make recommendations on preferential treatment for teachers; recommend that teachers' salaries be prioritized in the highest salary scale and table of the administrative career system," Mr. Son shared.

Regarding improving the lives of teachers, the Directive issued on January 5, 2024 by the Politburo also requires units to have preferential policies for teachers in areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions and specialized educational institutions.

Currently, teachers' salaries range from 3.8 to 12.2 million VND per month, depending on their rank. In addition to their salary, each teacher, depending on their position and workplace, may receive one or more of the following allowances: seniority allowance (5% after 5 years of work, plus 1% each year), career incentives (25 - 50%), position allowance, seniority allowance beyond the framework, and special allowances.

Specifically, according to current salary regulations, preschool and general education teachers (primary, secondary, high school) are divided into 3 grades I, II, III. From July 1, 2024, when implementing the new salary reform, teachers who are civil servants will be classified into the professional and technical salary table. Accordingly, for teachers in the public sector, a salary table for professional and technical teachers will be built according to the professional title of civil servants, which is applied generally to civil servants and public employees who do not hold leadership positions. Each professional title of civil servants has many salary levels. The professional salary table for teachers who are civil servants will be appointed from grades I, II, III currently enjoying according to Circular 01-04/2021/TT-BGDĐT (amended and supplemented by Circular 08/2023/TT-BGDĐT) to a new salary with many other salary levels from July 1, 2024 to ensure fairness, science, especially following the job position and work efficiency so that teachers can work with peace of mind and dedication.

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