When will teachers be able to live on their salaries?

To enable teachers to live on their salaries, some suggest that tuition fees could be increased to provide additional income for teachers.

The question, "When will teachers be able to live on their salaries?" is not only the expectation of a large number of teachers nationwide, but also a major issue that the Education sector is constantly considering and presenting to the Government for consideration, with the aim of attracting talented students to join the teaching profession as well as excellent teachers.

Once again, this issue has been brought to the forefront in the National Assembly recently when delegate Nguyen Xuan Thuy (from Phu Tho province) expressed his concern that the Government and the Prime Minister's work in the field of education still has many shortcomings, namely the reform of the salary system for teachers.

Teachers at Tuong Duong Ethnic Boarding Junior High School guide students in physics practical exercises - Photo: My Ha.

The 2nd Central Committee Resolution of the 8th Party Congress and the 8th Central Committee Resolution of the 11th Party Congress affirmed that teachers' salaries should be given the highest priority in the administrative and public service salary scale system, with allowances depending on the nature of the work and the region. However, currently, teachers' salaries are ranked 14th in the administrative and public service salary scale system.

Based on the current salary scale, a newly graduated teacher earns approximately 3.6 million VND per month. A teacher with 15 years of teaching experience earns over 5.7 million VND per month. Teachers with more than 25 years of experience (i.e., nearing retirement) earn over 8 million VND per month.

With salaries insufficient to cover living expenses, many teachers have had to consider supplementing their income by tutoring extra classes, teaching part-time at multiple schools, or taking on other jobs…

Improving teachers' lives by increasing tuition fees?

In order to improve and enhance the lives of teachers, in recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training has advised the Government to issue many regulations on salaries, preferential allowances, seniority allowances for teachers, etc.

However, despite implementing general salary scale regulations similar to other professions, the salaries of some teachers still do not meet the general living needs.

Despite having taught for 15 years, Ms. Ngo Thi Lan Anh (Literature teacher at Tran Phu High School, Hanoi) only earns a little over 5 million VND per month.

With the cost of living in the city and having two children, her salary is insufficient to cover their living and education expenses. Therefore, she needs additional contributions from her husband and support from her family to cover all household expenses and raise her children.

If recent graduates are given short-term teaching contracts at schools or in disadvantaged areas, their living difficulties are multiplied many times over. To attract talented teachers, increasing teachers' salaries should be a top priority.

However, currently, the budget allocated to education is 20% of the total state budget. This percentage reflects a greater priority given to education because our country is still facing difficulties, and many other sectors and industries also need investment. Therefore, we need solutions to increase teachers' salaries while ensuring that we do not become overly dependent on the state budget.

According to Ms. Ngo Thi Lan Anh, increasing salaries for teachers teaching in public schools from primary to secondary level could be based on a moderate increase in tuition fees. If the current tuition fee for public schools is 40,000 VND per student per month, it could be increased to 60,000 VND per month. This increase is entirely reasonable, not a drastic change, so people can still afford it while ensuring social welfare.

Tuition fee increases should be implemented in schools in provinces and cities, while in disadvantaged areas, there should be no increase. On the contrary, local authorities should provide support and create favorable conditions to attract teachers.

From the perspective of an education administrator, Professor Dinh Quang Bao, former Rector of Hanoi Pedagogical University, argues that we should not increase tuition fees at all levels of education from primary to high school because people's living standards are still very difficult. We should only increase tuition fees at universities outside the field of pedagogy and vocational schools.

"As for teacher training colleges, tuition fees should not be increased because, in reality, many students are already too 'indifferent' to applying to teacher training colleges. Increasing tuition fees would only further discourage candidates from pursuing this profession. What good is it to increase teachers' salaries if fewer people enroll in teacher training programs?" – Professor Dinh Quang Bao expressed.

To improve teachers' salaries so they can make a decent living, we must have a strategic plan for future human resource development in the field of teacher education. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training must develop a strategy for teacher training based on the structure of teachers in different disciplines, subjects, and regions, ensuring the quality of teacher qualifications. Based on this plan, the Ministry will assign teacher training institutions to train teachers according to quotas and create job opportunities for them after graduation.

According toVOV