One day in early September, teacher Dang Thi Hong (51 years old) in Quynh Luu district burst into tears when we mentioned the issue of allowances. Teacher Hong is one of hundreds of teachers in Nghe An whose allowances have been stopped and who have been asked to collect the money they have received in the past years. “When I received the news, I was really shocked. I have been in this profession for more than 30 years, and now I am considered not a teacher and not entitled to seniority. Since I received the news, I have cried every night, I am extremely hurt,” Ms. Hong said in tears.
Teaching since 1992, in Quynh Luu district, Ms. Hong is famous as a competent teacher. In 2008, she was awarded the title of Excellent Teacher at the age of 36, the youngest Excellent Teacher in Nghe An so far and one of the youngest in the country. Ms. Hong is also a National Excellent Teacher. After many years of dedication, in 2013, she was appointed Principal of Ngoc Son Primary School. A year later, under the persuasion of her superiors, she agreed to resign as principal and become a seconded teacher to work at the Department of Education and Training of Quynh Luu district, with the task of managing the primary school sector.
In her new position, for the first few months, Ms. Hong's salary was kept the same as when she was the principal. After that, her position allowance was cut because she was no longer the principal. "Therefore, since I started working at the Department of Education, my monthly salary has decreased by about 1 million VND. Even though my income has decreased, I am still happy to work and contribute to the industry," Ms. Hong said.
After more than 30 years of working, Ms. Hong's salary coefficient is now 5.36, preferential allowance 35% (also known as teaching allowance), seniority allowance 29%. The salary received in July 2023 is more than 14.5 million VND. However, according to the newly issued decision, cases like Ms. Hong will have their preferential allowance and seniority allowance cut from August 2023. Ms. Hong's salary is therefore reduced to just over 8.6 million VND per month. Not only that, she is also forced to return the allowance she has received since 2021.
“When we received the news that the allowance payment had stopped, we were shocked, and then we were asked to collect the arrears. We were really confused. In total, I had to pay back nearly 200 million VND. Where did we get that money from?”, Ms. Hong continued to cry.
In the same situation, Ms. Pham Thi Bich Luu (49 years old) in Dien Chau district has also been “unable to sleep” for many days since receiving the news that her allowance payment had been stopped and that she was required to collect arrears. “…I have no more energy to work. I am really confused,” Ms. Luu said. Ms. Luu has also been an Excellent Teacher since 2014, has won the First Prize for Excellent Teacher at the provincial level many times and is a National Excellent Teacher. Before being assigned to work at the Department of Education and Training of Dien Chau district at the end of 2014, Ms. Luu was the Vice Principal of Dien Ky Primary School.
In July 2023, Ms. Luu was receiving a salary coefficient of 5.36, a preferential allowance of 35%, and a seniority allowance of 28%. The salary received in July 2023 was more than 14.4 million VND. However, since August 2023, all allowances have been cut, Ms. Luu's salary is only about 8.6 million VND, only half of a teacher with the same seniority at the school. "We are all teachers, but I don't understand why we are treated like this," Ms. Luu said.
According to the reporter's research, Ms. Luu and Ms. Hong are excellent teachers with many achievements and many years of experience in the profession, so their current salaries are quite high. Most of the teachers on secondment at the education and training departments currently have a salary of only about 10 million VND, including allowances. If the allowance is cut, their income will be equal to that of newly graduated teachers, even though they used to be vice principals and principals. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tiep (41 years old, Do Luong district) is one of them.
Meeting us at the district Department of Education and Training, Mr. Tiep could not hold back his tears when talking about the frustrations he felt since receiving the news. Having been teaching since 2006, Mr. Tiep is a provincial-level excellent teacher and was appointed Vice Principal of Tru Son Secondary School in 2013. In 2016, he was seconded to work at the district Department of Education and Training. Currently, Mr. Tiep's salary, including teaching allowance and seniority allowance, is only 7.8 million VND. However, if these allowances are deducted, Mr. Tiep only earns about 5 million VND per month, equivalent to that of a newly graduated teacher, while Mr. Tiep is now a master's student. "When we received the news, everyone was confused. Our house is far from town, and it is really difficult to work with such a salary," Mr. Tiep choked up.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tat Tay - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Do Luong district, the unit currently has 14 staff, but 7 of them are teachers on secondment from other schools. “Before being seconded, most of them were vice principals or principals, the best people in the schools that we selected to help the Department of Education and Training of the district. However, since receiving the news that the allowances were cut, and we also had to request for additional collection, everyone is confused. Many people have expressed their desire to return to school. If this continues, no one will dare to go on secondment to work at the Department of Education in the future. Meanwhile, most of the work is done by this team,” said Mr. Tay.
If in Do Luong, the lack of workers is still a concern, then in the Department of Education and Training of Con Cuong district, this has become a reality. For many days now, the office of Head of Department Le Thanh An has always been cluttered with papers and documents, because he has to take on more work for his subordinates. "They have all asked to return to their old schools, now there is no one to do it, so the work of the remaining people has increased many times over," said Mr. An, adding that previously the unit had 10 employees, of which 6 were teachers on secondment from the school. However, up to now, all 6 people have asked to return to the school, because the allowance has been cut, leaving the department with only 4 people working. Many people used to be vice principals and principals before being seconded, but now accept to return to the school to work as teachers, because the old position is no longer available.
“The seconded teachers are “well-rounded” people with enough qualities and abilities. They can replace the head of department or deputy head of department to speak in front of the school management staff. Over the years, we have had to encourage and promote them so that they can be seconded to work in the department. They must be dedicated to doing so,” Mr. An added.
Regarding the issue of seconded teachers, currently facing many different documents, finding a "way out" for seconded teachers is an open question. While waiting for a suitable policy, the education and training departments all hope that the province and localities need to quickly arrange enough civil servants for the departments according to regulations to ensure enough labor. In addition, it is necessary to have a satisfactory answer soon so that seconded teachers can work with peace of mind, avoid ideological and emotional disturbances and have a suitable regime to be able to attract seconded teachers, the "elite" to work at the education and training department and complete the proposed educational tasks.
