Exemption of tuition fees for teachers’ children is one of the new proposals in the draft Law on Teachers that will be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion at the next session (opening on October 21). This proposal is attracting public attention and receiving many mixed opinions.

Many people expressed disagreement, with the main reason mentioned being concerns about fairness when this is applied: fairness between professions and fairness within schools.

Sending a letter to VietNamNet , a reader shared: Every time the education sector raises salaries, it only mentions teachers, while school staff such as clerks, accountants, librarians... also contribute without receiving any allowances other than the basic salary coefficient.

"After nearly 20 years of working as a clerk with a salary of 4-6 million VND/month, how can we feel secure in our work? While the work is also full of pressure. Are school staff the 'stepchildren' of the education sector? How unfair and disadvantaged! I hope that all levels of government will pay attention to our staff and give us a 25% allowance, not to mention exempting our children from tuition fees, so that we can feel secure in our work," a reader wrote.

Sharing the same sentiment, reader Duc Hoa asked: "Why are school staff... also serving the education sector but not receiving allowances like teachers, while teachers' children are proposed to be exempted from tuition fees?"

This reader expressed his feeling of unfairness because "when we requested to receive 25% allowance - the lowest level that other sectors' secretaries are receiving - the representative of the Ministry of Education and Training replied that it depends on the budget and is in difficulty. When the Ministry of Education and Training calculated the exemption of tuition fees for teachers' children, school staff were not mentioned", Mr. Duc Hoa commented.

Sharing the same view, reader Hoang Trong wondered: “Why are we, school staff, forgotten in the document of the Ministry of Education and Training? Why is the proposal to exempt tuition fees not mentioned as ‘cadres and civil servants working in the education sector’ like other sectors? Education is not just about teachers?”

With the view that tuition should be exempted for all low-income families, whether they are children of teachers or school staff or in other sectors, reader Thy Nguyen believes that if we want fairness, we need to support those who need it. “What is considered low income needs to have clear standards, criteria, and proof. Children with incomes below that amount will be exempted from tuition, regardless of their parents’ jobs or positions,” Thy Nguyen said.

Among the comments under VietNamNet's articles about the tuition exemption proposal, many people, including teachers, expressed their wish that the Ministry of Education and Training focus on solving existing problems or investing in other aspects of education.

Reader Manh Hung Duong wrote: "Every profession has its value and contributes to society. The Ministry of Education and Training should focus on solving urgent problems in the industry such as extra teaching, teacher rotation, or improving facilities for disadvantaged areas, instead of proposing free tuition for teachers' children."

Mr. Hung Duong also hopes that the authorities will invest more in building schools and improving infrastructure such as installing air conditioners in classrooms, avoiding overcharging that causes public outrage.

As a teacher, reader Xuan Thanh frankly said: “We should spend 9,200 billion to build schools and invest in difficult mountainous areas. We teachers are not rich but we have enough to feed and educate our children.”

Teacher Tran Ngoc said: "Although my wife and I are both teachers, I oppose this policy." Mr. Ngoc believes that in the context of many recent negative incidents affecting the reputation of the teaching profession, the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children could make public opinion even less sympathetic towards teachers.

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Illustration: Pham Trong Tung

Also working in the education sector, another reader said that what teachers need is recognition and the opportunity to focus on teaching knowledge, skills and character to students, not exemption from paying tuition fees for their children. “We need to be freed from all kinds of nameless administrative work and achievement-based competitions,” he said.

Besides the opinions disagreeing with the proposal to exempt teachers' children from tuition fees, there are also some people who support this proposal. Reader Nguyen Thien Trung expressed: "I hope the proposal will soon become a reality because many teachers are facing financial difficulties in raising their children and taking care of their elderly parents, while their salary is less than 5 million VND/month."

Sharing the same view, reader Nguyen Thien Ly said that teachers with high salaries are usually those who have worked for many years and whose children have finished school. This proposal would mainly support young teachers, those with lower incomes and those who have to raise young children.

As a long-time teacher in Dong Thap province, in a letter to VietNamNet , reader Nguyen Huu Nhan expressed his joy when he learned of the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers’ children. According to him, all professions are noble, but the difference lies in the fact that the product of the teaching profession is people with many successive generations.

“If products from other industries have errors, they can be fixed, but products from the education industry have high quality requirements. Teachers themselves must seriously practice ethics and strive in their profession in order to train students to become good people. This has been going on continuously in their professional work for decades,” Mr. Nhan explained.

In addition, according to him, teachers' salaries have been raised but have not met the needs of labor regeneration. Teachers do not have annual bonuses for exceeding productivity or sales... like other manufacturing and economic sectors. Those who teach in remote areas still have to spend money on travel, housing or visiting, helping, and motivating students to attend class...

Need to consider carefully

Many opinions from both sides (supporting or opposing free tuition for teachers' children) emphasized that although the proposal's goal is good, its implementation needs to be carefully calculated.

Reader Pham Hong Son shared: “Each teacher teaches dozens of students, imparting knowledge and life skills to the younger generation, which is not an easy job. However, there needs to be a practical and scientifically proven basis for the public to understand and agree with any priority given to teachers.”

Reader Do Van Khoa believes that we should base on social justice, not create differences just because of certain professions.

Regarding the Ministry of Education and Training, explaining the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children, Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers, said that this policy is based on a survey of teachers' wishes, and at the same time, the Ministry also wants to have a new policy to help teachers feel secure in their work and attract talented people to the industry.

Faced with mixed opinions about this proposal, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Training said that the drafting committee is always open-minded and listens, will research and calculate further, and carefully assess the impact of the policy, the conditions to ensure the country's socio-economic situation... to make appropriate adjustments.

The Ministry of Education and Training stated the reason for proposing to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children even though their salaries are not low . According to the Director of the Department of Teachers and Education Staff, the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children aims to help teachers have a stable life, work with peace of mind, and attract talented people to the education sector...