Director of Nghe An Department of Education and Training dialogues with 200 cadres and teachers in mountainous areas

On the morning of October 25, in Que Phong district, the Department of Education and Training organized a dialogue conference between leaders of the education and training sector of Nghe An with officials, teachers, and workers in the three districts of Que Phong, Quy Chau, and Quy Hop.

Also attending the dialogue were members of the Provincial Party Executive Committee: Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training, Nguyen Tu Phuong - Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation.

Many shortcomings in the arrangement of teachers and staff

This conference has attractedMore than 200 delegates are representatives of the Department of Education and Training; trade unions, teachers, staff and workers of schools in the three districts of Que Phong, Quy Chau and Quy Hop.

Overview of the conference. Photo: My Ha

At the dialogue, with a frank spirit, many opinions were given by representatives of the units, focusing on the work of cadres, teachers and the shortcomings in the arrangement of cadres, teachers and seconded staff in the Departments of Education and Training.

Specifically, opinions say: Currently, primary schools in mountainous districts are organizing 2 sessions/day. According to the instructions of the Provincial People's Committee, for schools in difficult areas, the province will arrange enough teachers, at least 1.5 teachers/class, but in reality, the shortage of teachers is quite serious.

For example, in Que Phong, primary school teachers are currently only assigned 1.34 teachers/class (including team leaders), making it difficult to organize teaching. Meanwhile, according to regulations, disadvantaged districts are not allowed to collect fees for extra classes and tutoring, so tutoring teachers have to suffer many disadvantages because schools do not have the funds to pay contract teachers.

A class of students at Thong Thu 2 Primary School - Que Phong. Photo: My Ha

Or as for seconded teachers, most education departments are currently lacking staff. However, the mobilization of seconded teachers faces many difficulties due to unreasonable mechanisms and policies. Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee - Mr. Le Van Giap also said: The current shortcomings need to be resolved promptly because through inspections and audits, the documents are contradictory. Seconded staff are all capable people, but when mobilized to the department, the allowances are cut, affecting the rights of teachers. On the district side, it will be difficult to mobilize teachers to the department.

Another issue that many teachers are concerned about is the mobilization and transfer of teachers at the beginning of the school year. Many teachers believe that almost every year, districts transfer teachers between schools, causing insecurity for teachers. Therefore, the education sector needs to have specific guidelines to set out criteria for mobilization and transfer and to ensure fairness for teachers.

A representative of the Department of Education and Training of Que Phong district expressed his opinion at the conference on the issue of teacher shortage. Photo: My Ha

At the Conference, there were also 33 written comments and more than 20 other direct recommendations made, focusing on 5 main groups of issues: organizational structure, staff arrangement and streamlining; financial work, implementation of policies and regimes for teachers and workers; implementation of fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training; emulation and reward work and issues on building public housing for teachers, quality assessment and recognition of national standard schools; management and evaluation in marking experience initiatives...

Avoid the situation where schools sit around praising each other.

This is the first time the Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Education Trade Union to organize a dialogue conference with workers. Speaking at the conference, Mr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training said: Currently, compared to other regions, education in the mountainous areas of Nghe An is facing many difficulties. Therefore, while in the lowlands, the sector takes innovation and creativity as the driving force for development, in the mountainous districts, the immediate task is to take efficiency as the driving force for educational development.

The leaders of the Department of Education and Training also affirmed: To transform the entire sector, teaching and learning must be substantial, not chasing after achievements. That also means that "schools do not praise each other through the results of some excellent student competitions" but must be demonstrated through the overall quality of education. From this reality, through the conference, the leaders of the Department hope to listen to frank opinions at the grassroots level. From there, the sector will gradually remove difficulties and obstacles and will advise the province to develop policies to help the implementation of tasks at the grassroots level become more convenient and effective.

Director of the Department of Education and Training Thai Van Thanh speaks at the conference. Photo: My Ha.

Regarding teacher placement, the province is currently short of more than 4,000 teachers at primary and preschool levels. Therefore, the industry's current view is not to reduce the number of teachers teaching at schools. At the same time, the industry is also consulting with the province and the Department of Home Affairs to arrange about 1,400 more primary school teachers in 2020 to ensure enough teaching for 2 sessions/day and not having to collect additional fees from students and parents.

Regarding the issue of revenue and expenditure at the beginning of the school year, the Director of the Department of Education and Training also admitted that this work currently has many shortcomings and many schools are not implementing it correctly, and are still overcharging.

Therefore, in the coming time, the Department will directly work with departments and high schools in the province to thoroughly understand this issue; and from the next school year, schools must soon submit plans to call for sponsorship, not organize equal collection.

Regarding investment in school facilities, the Department will also be responsible for planning, prioritizing schools in disadvantaged areas and schools that are building standard schools. Absolutely do not let the current standard debt situation happen.

Comrade Nguyen Tu Phuong - Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation spoke at the conference. Photo: My Ha

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Tu Phuong - Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation also highly appreciated the organization of the dialogue conference by the Department of Education and Training. This is an inevitable trend to help workers express their opinions and to quickly resolve difficulties and shortcomings.

On the side of the Provincial Federation of Labor, this is also considered an important channel to listen to opinions from the grassroots and committed to accompany and coordinate with the Department of Education and Training to protect the rights of workers and have active support for material and spiritual life; rights and legitimate interests in accordance with the provisions of law.

It is expected that after the conference with officials and teachers, the Department of Education and Training will also organize a dialogue conference with students of the province.