Minister Nguyen Kim Son: Teachers need a suitable specialized legal framework

According to the Minister, the construction of this Law aims to comprehensively develop the teaching force, in line with profound and comprehensive innovation from the education management system to school administration.

- Dear Minister, the occasion of the Vietnamese Teachers' Day this year is also the time when the draft Law on Teachers is presented to the National Assembly for comments for the first time at the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly. The draft Law is receiving many expectations and expectations from teachers across the country. Could the Minister share the notable points of the draft Law on Teachers?

-Teachers play an important role in determining the quality of education. Reality has proven that the development of education depends on the development of the teaching staff. The results of educational innovation depend on the innovation of each teacher. Thus, the quality of an education depends mainly on the quality of the teaching staff. The quality of teachers depends on many factors. In addition to the efforts of each individual teacher, the working environment and policies for teachers (regarding recruitment, use, treatment, honor, protection, development, etc.) play an important role.

Based on that awareness, over the past long time, the Ministry of Education and Training has been actively, proactively, and persistently preparing theoretical and practical bases to propose and receive permission from competent authorities to develop a separate regulatory law to meet the expectations of 1.6 million teachers working in educational institutions nationwide.

The Law on Teachers was developed with a new perspective on approach, shifting from management mainly by administrative tools to management by expertise and quality; from personnel management to human resource management to comprehensively develop the teaching force, in line with the profound and comprehensive innovation from the education management system to school administration.

The subjects and scope of application of the Law on Teachers project are teachers in educational institutions in the national education system, including teachers in public and non-public educational institutions. This is the first time we have built a legal basis for teachers in non-public educational institutions, ensuring equality with teachers in public educational institutions in terms of identification, professional standards, basic rights and obligations of teachers and a number of policies such as training, fostering, honoring, rewarding, and handling of violations.

This is also the first time that the rights and obligations of teachers have been clearly, completely and systematically defined. Teachers are required to constantly develop and are protected through the rights of teachers and what individuals and organizations are not allowed to do to teachers in the direction of increasing initiative, creativity and protection in professional activities.

The Law Project also standardizes and improves the quality of the teaching staff through a system of titles and professional standards with standards according to the requirements of professional capacity associated with each level of education and training.

Another notable point is that the draft Law stipulates the requirement for pedagogical practice in teacher recruitment in order to select people with sufficient capacity in line with professional standards, meeting the professional activities of teachers at each level of education and training level. Policies for mobilization, secondment, transfer, inter-school and inter-level teaching for teachers in public educational institutions are also stipulated as a basis for arranging and assigning teachers in accordance with the characteristics of professional activities and the practical requirements of the education sector.

The education sector has a more proactive role in recruiting, using and managing teachers. In particular, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs are the agencies in charge of developing strategies, projects, development plans, and total staffing levels of teachers under their management authority to submit to competent authorities for decision; coordinating the staffing levels of teachers in public educational institutions according to the number assigned by competent authorities; education management agencies or educational institutions play a leading role in recruiting, using and managing teachers and implementing according to the principle of promoting decentralization and delegation of power to localities.

Teachers' salary policy is prioritized. In particular, the basic salary according to the teachers' salary table is ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale system; teachers are entitled to preferential allowances and other allowances depending on the nature of the job, according to the region according to the provisions of law. Teachers continue to receive seniority allowances until the salary policy according to Resolution 27-NQ/TW is implemented. Preschool teachers; teachers working in especially difficult areas, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, coastal areas and islands; teachers of specialized schools; teachers implementing inclusive education; teachers who are ethnic minorities and teachers in some specific professions are given priority in the salary and allowance regime compared to other teachers. Teachers recruited and assigned salaries for the first time are given a salary increase of one level in the administrative career salary scale system.

Teachers working in ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands and areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions; teachers teaching specialized schools, teachers teaching inclusive education; teachers teaching ethnic minority languages; teachers teaching Vietnamese language enhancement for ethnic minority students; teachers teaching gifted subjects and arts are entitled to a number of other support policies (such as ensuring official housing, being paid for travel expenses during working time in areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions during annual leave, holidays, Tet, etc.).

The State has policies to attract highly qualified and talented people, excellent graduates, young scientists, and people with special talents to participate in recruitment as teachers; teachers to work in particularly difficult areas such as ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, coastal areas, and islands.

The retirement age of teachers is regulated separately according to the characteristics of their professional activities. In particular, teachers in preschool education institutions, if they wish, can retire at a lower age but not more than 5 years older than the regulation and will not have their pension rate deducted due to early retirement. Teachers with the title of professor, associate professor or doctoral degree and teachers working in specific specialized fields and sectors can retire at a higher age if needed.

- As the Minister has just informed, the draft Law on Teachers continues to propose that "teachers' salaries are given the highest priority in the administrative and career salary scale system". Previously, this content was stated in Resolution 29-NQ/TW on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training; however, after 10 years, it has not been implemented. Will it be implemented this time when included in the draft Law, Minister?

- The Party and the State always identify “education and training as the top national policy”, as a strategic priority. Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW has clearly defined the salary policy for teachers, Conclusion 91-KL/TW of the Politburo recently reiterated, that shows the concern of the Party and the State, the viewpoint of implementing policies to develop the teaching staff. And this helps teachers to be excited, to trust in the leadership, the concern of the Party and the State for education in general and the teaching staff in particular.

During the past time, although there have been changes, we have not basically implemented much in terms of salary policy for teachers, because there are still many difficulties.

It can be seen that teachers make up a large number, with over 1 million people receiving salaries from the State budget. Therefore, although we are really concerned, to realize this concern, we still have to balance the State budget. Our country has not escaped poverty for long, the need for resources for national development is still very high and the labor force in general is still facing difficulties, not just the teaching staff. Therefore, although there is a clear direction, to implement it, we need to further calculate appropriate resources.

When proposing a salary policy in the draft Law on Teachers, we would like to emphasize that this is necessary and needs to be considered. From a certain perspective, it is also necessary to recognize that in the recent past, although not much has been done, with two adjustments to the basic salary, the lives of teachers have improved a step, bringing teachers a lot of encouragement.

- One of the great motivations for teachers to be able to stick with and love their profession is the position and honor of the profession. According to the Minister, what solutions are needed to continue to improve the position of teachers in the current context?

- It must be affirmed that teachers always love their profession and want to be shared and recognized by society, to contribute to their profession and have the opportunity to demonstrate their professional responsibility.

In recent times, the Law on Education and the Law on Higher Education have created an important legal basis for industry governance and innovation in the field of education and training. However, with the nature of a special force of civil servants and workers, additional legal bases are needed to institutionalize the recognition, responsibilities, obligations, and rights of teachers.

With the draft Law on Teachers being submitted to the National Assembly for its first comments at this 8th Session, we hope that the policies mentioned in the Law, when passed and implemented in practice, will be an important tool to develop the teaching force.

The reason why the issue of teachers' salaries has not been implemented as expected in the past 10 years is partly due to the lack of legal basis. I hope that the Law on Teachers will solve the problems of legal basis for innovation in teacher management, for professional affirmation and demonstration, and for policies. This will contribute significantly to affirming and maintaining the position, and enhancing the position of teachers in society.

- One of the points considered to be a “breakthrough” in the draft Law on Teachers is the proposal that “the education sector has a more active role and initiative in recruiting, using and managing teachers”. Up to this point, in many different forums, this proposal has received a lot of support. Can the Minister explain why the draft Law on Teachers makes this proposal?

- State management of teachers is an important and consistent content in the process of developing the teaching staff, from the time they first enter the profession, develop their career until retirement. State management of teachers needs a suitable specialized legal framework, in which teachers, both public and non-public, see themselves, their profession, their mission, their development path, only then can they bring success to learners and meet the expectations of society.

It can be said that the Law on Teachers is an opportunity for us to adjust our viewpoints and thinking in state management of teachers. The Law must demonstrate the innovation and perfection of institutions in state management of teachers, shifting the focus from personnel management to human resource management.

The fundamental difference between human resource management and current personnel management is that teachers are seen as a key resource contributing to the success of education. This resource includes professionals in the teaching profession, trained, recruited, employed and compensated according to a system of regulations implemented by the education sector, to ensure a connection between the quantity, quality and structure of the teaching staff with the goals and development requirements of education.

Shifting the state management mindset on teachers to a human resource management model is an urgent requirement, especially in the current period, when education is facing the requirements of fundamental and comprehensive innovation.

The Law on Teachers will be a consistent, effective and efficient legal framework for building and developing the team. In particular, the subject of state management of teachers is emphasized on the responsibility of the education sector and is specifically decentralized from the Ministry to the Department of Education and Training and educational institutions. The orientation of the Law will increase the professional factor, focusing on quality in teacher training and recruitment.

I emphasize the expertise and quality in teacher management because this factor will ensure that state management has innovation in both the public and private sectors. The law also guides unified and smooth management throughout the system with clear decentralization but ensures recruitment, mobilization, exchange, and use in a smooth and unified manner nationwide.

We hope that state management of teachers built on such professional and quality factors will lead to tighter and more substantial management, and teachers will feel more comfortable and free in their professional activities and have more conditions to develop themselves and contribute to the profession.

- Thank you very much, Minister!

Article: Hieu Nguyen - Photo: Xuan Phu - Design: Tran Hiep