Special regulations to honor teachers

On November 20, the National Assembly discussed the draft Law on Teachers. The contents related to specific policies on salaries, teacher recruitment, and extra teaching received many comments from delegates.

Teachers and students of Tran Hung Dao Primary School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) on Vietnamese Teachers' Day - Photo: NHU HUNG

In addition, some delegates suggested that the bill should add specific provisions showing honor and respect for teachers.

Proposal to have separate salary scale for teachers

Among them, National Assembly delegates highly agreed with the regulation that teachers' salaries are ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale system. However, some delegates suggested that a separate salary scale for teachers should be developed.

Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Tra Vinh) proposed to first build a separate salary table for teachers, ensuring a clearly higher salary level than other sectors in the administrative sector.

Along with that, he proposed to increase preferential allowances for jobs, especially in disadvantaged areas with an allowance rate of 50 - 100% depending on the specific level of each locality.

At the same time, clearly stipulate the priority level and implementation mechanism for teachers and specific professions, ensuring fairness and efficiency.

Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi) cited that teachers make up 70% of the entire social workforce, while applying the salary scale of the civil service system to teachers.

According to Mr. Cuong, even if we say that it is ranked at the highest level, that is still inappropriate. Therefore, he agrees that it is necessary to build a separate salary table for teachers to suit the characteristics and job position of each teacher.

Besides, the salary regime must adequately compensate for labor costs so that teachers can feel secure, enthusiastic, and dedicated to their profession, without having to worry about working extra to make a living...

The bill grants the right to recruit teachers to the education management agency in charge of recruitment or to decentralize, authorize or the head of the educational institution to carry out the recruitment.

Many delegates agreed with this regulation. Delegate Tran Van Thuc (Thanh Hoa) assessed that this is a very important regulation, which can immediately solve difficult problems, especially the increasingly serious problem of teacher surplus and shortage for many years in many localities.

Policy of not banning extra teaching

Regarding extra classes and tutoring, delegate Do Huy Khanh (Dong Nai) said that the Ministry of Education and Training needs to coordinate with agencies to issue specific regulations and management mechanisms for this issue... In fact, extra classes are a necessary need of society.

However, there are two currents of public opinion in society: one is prohibition, the other is management. Many workers work overtime in the afternoon and cannot pick up their children, so they want to send their children to teachers to take home to manage and pick them up at night. Therefore, he believes that the law needs to have a management mechanism for extra teaching and learning.

Delegate Chamaléa Thi Thuy (Ninh Thuan) also expressed the need to thoroughly consider the issue of extra teaching and learning because it is a real need of learners, especially in big cities. Students who set high goals should have the need to find good teachers for extra lessons.

Regarding the content of ensuring teachers' salaries are ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale system, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that when drafting legal documents and following the direction of the General Secretary, we must also look at other sectors.

He also made it clear that he did not want his industry to have any special privileges, benefits or unusual favors. He believed that when considering a strategic breakthrough, the top national policy must definitely have priority.

Regarding extra teaching, the minister stated that the ministry is not prohibiting extra teaching but prohibiting extra teaching behaviors that violate teachers' ethics and professional principles. That is, prohibiting some coercive behaviors of teachers in this matter.

In the process of completing the draft law, building the image of a model, respectable teacher in society, although difficult, is very important content that I think this Law on Teachers needs to aim for.

What I wish most is that after this law is enacted, the image and standards of teachers must be respected by themselves so that they can be honored by society, worthy of the mission of educating people, the tradition of respecting teachers of our nation.

Delegate DUONG VAN PHUOC (National Assembly Delegation of Quang Nam Province)

Need special mechanism for North-South high-speed railway project

Also discussing the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, many delegates proposed the need to expand the project route and were concerned about mobilizing capital to ensure feasibility, schedule, and increase the autonomy and participation of private investors in the project.

Recommending the need to expand the North-South high-speed railway from the starting point in Lang Son to the end point in Ca Mau, delegate Nguyen Quoc Han (Ca Mau) said that expanding the route would help promote synchronous socio-economic development, promote exports, and ensure national security and defense.

Delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry (Bac Lieu delegation) also hopes to expand to the two northernmost points of the country, or possibly connect the railway to Can Tho to promote the region's resources.

Delegate Duong Khac Mai (Dak Nong) was concerned about the investment capital as this is a large-scale project with more than 67 billion USD, nearly equal to the total budget revenue of one year.

From the current status of public investment projects, he suggested that the Government provide more information on the ability to provide capital as well as suggest that there should be a mechanism to mobilize resources from the people to implement investment.

Explaining the opinions, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang emphasized that the project was studied for a very long time, 18 years, the documents were carefully consulted with other countries, so it was affirmed that 2027 is the appropriate time to implement the investment. The project is also consistent with the planning and socio-economic development plans of related regions and localities, land use planning...

Regarding the scope of the project, the choice of starting and ending points as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is due to the fact that the railway section connecting Lang Son and Can Tho already has its own project. These are standard gauge railway projects for passenger and freight transport.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quy-dinh-dac-thu-de-ton-vinh-nha-giao-20241121081624538.htm