Teacher professional title certificate: 'Necessary' but not urgent

Opportunity to be promoted

Professional title is the name that shows the level and professional capacity of civil servants in each professional field.

At the same time, the recruitment of civil servants must be based on job requirements, job positions, professional title standards and salary funds of public service units. Professional title certificates are considered "papers" to prove whether civil servants have the qualifications, professional capacity and skills to meet the requirements of each professional field or not.

The 2010 Law on Civil Servants also stipulates that "a person appointed to a professional title must meet the standards of that professional title."

A teaching hour at Nghi Phu 2 Primary School. Photo: MH

In the education sector, previously, depending on the level of education, teachers were ranked from level IV to level I and this was also the basis for paying teachers' salaries. This regulation also had shortcomings because there were many cases, especially preschool, primary and secondary school teachers, because even though they had graduated from university, when recruited, teachers were only paid according to intermediate and college levels. To get a salary increase, teachers were forced to take an exam to upgrade their ranks with many "rigorous" standards. In which, the most difficult criteria were still qualifications such as having IT certificates, foreign languages ​​and professional certificates.

In fact, over the years, thousands of Nghe An teachers have gone through training to obtain one of these certificates, but not many have been upgraded. This will also lead to disadvantages, especially for teachers who have worked for many years and whose salary coefficient is close to the highest salary increase framework of the State.

Regarding the upgrading of teachers, from March 20, 2021, 4 circulars issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, including Circular 01/2021/TT-BGDDT; Circular 02/2021/TT-BGDDT; Circular 03/2021/TT-BGDDT; Circular 04/2021/TT-BGDDT will come into effect. These circulars stipulate codes, professional title standards, and appointment and salary classification of teaching staff in schools at all levels from preschool to high school.

In particular, from March 20, 2021, the salary classification for teachers at all levels according to new professional titles will also change. In particular, preschool teachers apply a salary coefficient from 2.1 - 6.38 (currently applying a salary coefficient ranging from 1.86 - 4.98). Primary school teachers apply a salary coefficient ranging from 2.34 - 6.78 (currently the salary coefficient for this group is fluctuating from 1.86 - 4.98). Secondary school teachers apply a salary coefficient ranging from 2.34 - 6.78 (currently receiving salary according to the salary coefficient from 2.1 - 6.38).

This change must objectively be affirmed to be very beneficial for teachers. However, the salary increase still depends on the teacher's rank. The new regulation has also abolished the standard of IT and Foreign Language certificates if teachers want to be promoted. But teachers need to have a professional certificate according to the provisions of the Law on Civil Servants.

Many teachers believe that this is unnecessary because to study for a teacher certificate, they have to pay a tuition fee of 2,500,000 VND/person for a short-term course. Meanwhile, the content taught in this course is not new and many teachers have basically met the requirements for teaching and learning. In particular, some teachers believe that they already have a Class II certificate and of course, when switching to the new circular, they must be converted according to the regulations. However, if they do not have a certificate, they will have to be relegated to Class III until they have enough certificates.

English class of Hung Dung Secondary School students. Photo: MH

The new regulation on promotion has also made many teachers worried and they are racing to register for certificate classes, even registering to study online. Some Continuing Education and Vocational Training Centers in the province have also coordinated with the Department of Education and Training and some universities and colleges to open classes.certificatefor students. Meanwhile, not all teachers can be upgraded immediately after completing the certificate.

Do not "massively" study certificates.

Ky Son High School currently has more than 80 staff and teachers, some of whom have worked for nearly 30 years. However, up to now, all of the school’s teachers are still only ranked at level III (the lowest level of teachers).

Previously, when the State's policy on promoting teachers was issued, nearly 40 teachers of the school had attended vocational certificate courses but had not been promoted for reasons such as not being considered for promotion, lacking one of the certificates according to the rigid standards...

A professional training session of teachers at Huynh Thuc Khang High School. Photo: Duc Anh

Talking about this, teacher Le Van Tao - Principal of the school said: "Upgrading has been the wish of teachers for many years and we hope to be considered soon.upgradeBecause if it takes too long, teachers' certificates may expire.

Regarding the new circulars issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training affirmed: "The Ministry of Education and Training's issuance of requirements and criteria on knowledge and skills for each rank and grade is reasonable. The adjustment of the new circular is much more beneficial for teachers. When ranking/ranking according to the new regulations, most preschool, primary and secondary school teachers are superior compared to before."

In fact, professional title certificates are not only required for the education sector but also for all other sectors. However, many teachers have not been fully instructed. Therefore, in the past, there was a situation where teachers competed to spend money to study for professional certificates, and many teachers even studied the wrong type of certificate due to not understanding clearly.

The vast majority of teachers in Nghe An have met or exceeded standards. Photo: MH

Many unqualified units have also opened classes and issued certificates, wasting teachers' time and money. In the current situation, Mr. Thai Van Thanh also said that we should not rush to study for certificates to avoid waste. For example, teachers who have not worked for enough years and will have to wait 6 or 7 years to be promoted do not need to study early but spend time to supplement other conditions.

Previously, on February 24, the Nghe An Department of Education and Training also issued an official dispatch requesting the Departments of Education and Training and schools in the area to review the structure and professional title ranks of teachers to determine those who need training and development and meet the standards for appointment and salary classification according to the new circulars.

On that basis, develop plans and arrange to create conditions for teachers to be trained and fostered. The document also requires units to determine what level of training each teacher has, what level of professional title certificate must be trained and recommends that teachers do not participate in online training courses because the units are not qualified and do not have the training function to avoid unnecessary waste.

Most recently, on March 4, the Department of Education and Training also continued to issue a document to rectify this issue. Specifically, while waiting for the Ministry of Education and Training to provide detailed instructions on implementing the new circulars, the Department recommended that teachers not attend professional title training courses.

At the same time, it is strictly forbidden for individuals and organizations without the function and authority to arbitrarily advertise recruitment or organize teachers to register for training courses, affecting the educational activities of educational institutions. Regarding the Department of Education and Training, educational institutions are not allowed to coordinate with training institutions to implement training on professional title standards for teachers in Nghe An province without the opinion of the Department of Education and Training.