Nghe An: Many localities have staff but still have difficulty recruiting teachers

Solving the problem of teacher shortage

Nghi Phong Primary School (Nghi Loc) has 25 classes, but only 30 cultural teachers, the ratio of teachers in class is still very low compared to the requirement. To help ensure the organization of teaching and learning, the school is currently contracting 5 teachers, including 2 cultural teachers, 1 Team Leader teacher, 1 IT teacher and 1 English teacher. In addition, the school has 4 teachers seconded from junior high school down with a secondment period of 1-2 years, including 2 English teachers and 2 cultural teachers.

Among the teachers under contract, the school is partially supported with salary payments from the district budget with the amount of 4 million VND/teacher. The rest, the school is having to pay from the school's second teaching income and is still struggling.

Class time of students at Nghi Phong Primary School (Nghi Loc). Photo: My Ha

Sharing about the current difficulties, teacher Nguyen Thi Minh Thuong - Principal of Nghi Phong Primary School said: Our school is seriously lacking teachers, because currently, if we count contract teachers, the ratio is only 1.25 teachers/class. Next year, if the seconded teachers finish their working time, many subjects will no longer have teachers to teach. In the past, we have also proposed many times to the district to add more teachers to the school and if calculated according to regulations, we need about 7 more teachers to meet the staff.

The shortage of teachers has been happening in Nghi Loc district for many years now, even at the primary level there was a time when there was only 1 teacher/class, while the regulation for teaching 2 sessions/day is 1.5 teachers/class. With such a huge shortage, although the Provincial People's Committee recently assigned the district to add 171 positions, it only partially met the demand.

Through discussion, Mr. Nguyen Van Thong - Head of the District Education and Training Department said: In this recruitment, we have added 133 preschool teachers. In addition to the priority recruitment of 19 teachers in categories 06 and 09, we will be able to recruit 114 new preschool teachers. This is very necessary at the present time and if we recruit enough, we will be able to increase the ratio of preschool teachers in the district from 1.2 to 1.6 teachers/class, not enough according to the prescribed quota, but basically it will help schools solve the current problem of teacher shortage.

At the primary level, having only 29 positions is not enough, but it will help schools have more teachers to teach classes and we are consulting on recruiting cultural teachers and giving priority to more teachers to teach Music and Fine Arts. At the secondary level, we will consult on recruiting Biology and Chemistry teachers to have enough teachers to teach classes according to the new curriculum.

Lack of teachers will affect the quality of teaching in schools. Photo: My Ha.

Statusteacher shortageis taking place in all 21 districts, cities and towns across the province, because Nghe An is currently short of more than 5,000 teachers. In that context, the Provincial People's Committee has just added more than 2,800 positions from primary to high school levels, which has helped many localities in arranging teachers to teach in schools. At this time, localities are also balancing the number of assigned positions and the actual needs in the localities to develop a teacher recruitment plan and are expected to start recruiting from 2023 after being appraised by the Department of Home Affairs and approved by the Provincial People's Committee. However, recruitment also needs to be considered, because each locality has its own characteristics.

Considerations during the hiring process

Previously, right after the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 3298/QD-UBND to add 2,820 teachers for the 2022-2023 school year, the Department of Education and Training also issued a document guiding the recruitment of civil servants in the education sector. In particular, it noted a number of subjects that need attention, priority, or subjects that do not have enough qualifications according to regulations.

Class time of students at Muong Xen Town Secondary School (Ky Son). Photo: My Ha

During the implementation process, each locality has its own characteristics, so the recruitment of teachers is also being carried out carefully. In Yen Thanh district, through discussion, Mr. Tran Xuan Tinh - Head of the District Education and Training Department said: Yen Thanh district has been assigned to add 292 positions and we are proposing and consulting with the district to recruit enough teachers. Of which, 238 preschool teachers will be recruited on contract 06, 09. For primary school teachers, in addition to cultural teachers, we will recruit teachers of specific subjects such as Physical Education, Music, and Fine Arts. However, it is difficult to recruit new ones, because Yen Thanh district currently has more than 100 contract teachers and priority is given to recruiting them. As for secondary school level, although there are quotas, there will be no recruitment, because in reality the district currently has more than 100 secondary school teachers in excess.

Recruiting secondary school teachers will also be difficult in many other localities, although most districts are currently assigned quotas. The reason is that there is currently a surplus of secondary school teachers, and some districts like Thanh Chuong have to transfer about 50% of surplus secondary school teachers to teach at primary school this year. For that reason, even though there are quotas for secondary school teachers, Thanh Chuong district still has difficulty recruiting.

Many localities have a surplus of junior high school teachers, so it will be difficult to recruit new ones. Photo: My Ha

The recruitment process is also being considered by localities based on the total number of staff in the district and is taking into account the streamlining of teachers. In Tan Ky district, through discussion, a representative of the Department of Internal Affairs said: Recruitment must follow the process, in which priority is given to teachers 06, 09 at preschool level. At the remaining levels, although there are quotas, we are having to consider. Because, according to regulations, the education sector, including Tan Ky district, must streamline 10% of teachers each year (equivalent to about 45 people each year). However, if the number of streamlining is not enough, it will affect the general staffing quota and we only recruit within the allowed staffing quota. If we recruit more than the regulations, the source of salary payment will face many difficulties.

Up to this point, Ky Son is a district that has completed quite early the construction of a plan to recruit staff according to the quota that the Provincial People's Committee has just added to the district. However, after being approved by the district and transferred to the Department of Home Affairs, the recruitment plan is being requested to be adjusted to match the general staffing of the district.

Through discussion, Mr. Lau Ba Thai - Deputy Head of the District Internal Affairs Department said: The whole Ky Son district has nearly 1,900 teachers and from now until 2026, the district needs to reduce 208 people, an average of nearly 50 people per year. Through initial review, in 2023, the number of teachers retiring or retiring according to Decree 108 is only about 10 people. Therefore, if we recruit new teachers, we will have excess staff and no budget to pay salaries.

The shortage of specialized teachers is happening in many localities. In the photo: Music class of students at Ha Huy Tap Secondary School (Vinh City). Photo: My Ha

In addition to the above difficulties, Ky Son district is also facing its own characteristics, such as although 23 primary school teachers have been added to the payroll and the district has planned to recruit IT and English teachers, the opportunity is very difficult because there are no registration documents. There are 22 preschool teachers in categories 06 and 09, but only 3 have the required qualifications. The remaining 19 are currently studying and will have their degrees by the end of 2023. Faced with this reality, the Deputy Head of the Internal Affairs Department of Ky Son district added: We will keep the preschool teacher quota for 06 and 09 teachers and not recruit new ones. But for the remaining teachers, we hope to have separate mechanisms, because currently, if following the regulations, there will be no candidates to go to Ky Son. Meanwhile, there are still many IT and English graduates in the area, but they do not have university degrees according to the new regulations.

With the above difficulties, it is clear that even though there is a payroll, recruitment cannot be carried out soon and needs to be reviewed and arranged to suit each locality and in accordance with the regulations in the guiding documents. This consideration is also necessary to ensure the right subjects, the right purposes and suitability to the current context.