Many teachers have made recommendations on how to calculate overtime pay.

In recent days, in Vinh City (Nghe An Province), many primary school teachers have submitted petitions regarding overtime pay and the calculation of regular teaching hours for homeroom teachers.

Proposal for overtime pay, extra hours

The petition of the teachers of Hung Binh Primary School and Hong Son Primary School, Vinh City, shows that: For a long time, the school's calculation of overtime pay and increased teaching hours according to the regulations in Circular 28/2009/TT-BGDDT of the Ministry of Education and Training has not been satisfactory. Accordingly, the teachers requested that the school comply with the regulations in Circular 28/2009/TT-BGDDT, which clearly states that the teaching hour norm for primary school teachers is 23 hours/week. If teachers concurrently hold other duties such as class leader, professional group leader, school council secretary, or head of the school's people's inspection committee, they will be reduced by 2-3 hours/week.

Hung Binh Primary School, Vinh City (Nghe An Province). Photo: D.Bac

However, according to the feedback, many homeroom teachers at the school still have to teach 22-23 periods/week without being reduced the number of periods according to regulations, and are not paid overtime even though parents still pay for 2 sessions/day (before February 14, 2025). In particular, the overtime pay of homeroom teachers in semester 1 is paid 35,000 VND/period, lower than the level prescribed in Joint Circular No. 07/2013/TTLT-BGDĐT-BNV-BTC (calculated according to the formula: salary for 1 hour of extra teaching is equal to salary for 1 hour of teaching multiplied by 150%).

Many teachers also said that the school calculated 23 periods/week without deducting the periods for part-time work, which is against the regulations, forcing them to teach 25-26 periods/week. Meanwhile, the part-time work periods are only paid from 35,000-50,000 VND/period, lower than the 150% salary as prescribed. In addition, some teachers also reported that the school did not include the flag-raising meeting at the beginning of the week in the regular teaching period, but considered it a mandatory duty of the homeroom teacher. This is against the regulations of Circular 3535/BGDĐT-GDTH and Circular 32/BGDĐT-GDTH of the Ministry of Education and Training.

What do schools and education say?

Regarding this issue, Ms. Tran Thi Viet Ha - Principal of Hung Binh Primary School confirmed that she had received the petition and had explained it to the teachers. However, some teachers said that the school leaders' response was not really satisfactory.

According to Ms. Ha, the school currently has 45 classes with 1,667 students and 62 cultural teachers, meaning the teacher/class ratio is currently 1.378, 2 teachers short of the regulation of 1.39 teachers/class. The school is calculating the actual number of teaching periods of teachers to be 23 periods/week, and the extra periods will be paid for.

The school also collects tuition fees from parents at the rate of 50,000 VND/student/month (before February 14, 2025), the total collection up to February 2025 is 519 million VND. This amount is spent on many items, including nearly 54 million VND to pay for extra teaching 2 sessions/day for teachers at 150% of salary, nearly 99 million VND to pay for guest teachers' salary, 49 million VND to pay for security guards, 68 million VND for electricity and water, 49 million VND for students' drinking water and 61 million VND to return to students because the extra money was not collected from February 14 according to Circular 29. The school currently has 137 million VND left and has returned it to the treasury.

Regarding the calculation of homeroom periods, Ms. Ha explained that according to the 2018 General Education Program, homeroom teachers have 3 concurrent periods including class activities, thematic activities, and flag-raising activities. The school calculates overtime for the first 2 periods because they take place in each class, but flag-raising activities are usually organized for the whole school, so they only pay the teachers assigned to perform them.

Speaking to Dai Doan Ket Newspaper reporter, Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of Vinh City Department of Education and Training said: Many schools are wondering about how to calculate the number of actual teaching periods of teachers. According to the consolidated document 03/VBHN-BGDĐT dated June 23, 2017, each primary school teacher must ensure 23 periods/week, the periods of concurrent work if counted as extra hours will be paid from the budget according to Joint Circular 07/2013/TTLT-BGDĐT-BNV-BTC.

However, based on the consolidated document 03/VBHN - BGDĐT, the Circular promulgating regulations on working regime for general teachers and based on the current actual situation, the city's Education Department has guided how to calculate the actual number of teaching periods of each teacher to ensure 23 periods/week. For concurrent periods, if they are considered as extra hours, the unit will pay from the budget according to the instructions of Joint Circular No. 07/2013/TTLT-BGDĐT-BNV-BTC guiding the implementation of the overtime pay regime for teachers in public educational institutions.

"After receiving the petition, we went to the schools to work. In addition to understanding their wishes and aspirations, the Department also clearly explained to the teaching staff at the above schools," Ms. Thao added.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nhieu-giao-vien-kien-nghi-ve-cach-tinh-tien-thua-gio-10302497.html