Teacher training colleges are experiencing a shortage of candidates.

(Baonghean.vn) -This year's university and college entrance exam season saw a sharp increase in applications to Vinh University for teacher training programs, with 5,194 candidates, a 54.6% increase compared to 2012. However, the situation was completely different for the Computer Science teacher training program, with only 20 candidates applying.

After the Government issues itResolution 49/CP dated August 4, 1993, on the development of Information Technology (IT), clearly stated: It is necessary to quickly train a team of skilled IT professionals, provide universal IT education in secondary schools, widely disseminate IT knowledge throughout society, and strengthen the application of IT within the education and training sector itself. In response to this situation, in 1998, the Faculty of Information Technology at Vinh University was established, including the Computer Science Education major.

Recognizing the demand, Vinh University receives numerous applications for its Computer Science Education program each year, with an average of 2,000-3,000 students enrolling in this field annually. In the early years after graduation, the number of graduates finding employment was high. However, in subsequent years, the number of graduates securing jobs decreased due to the saturation of the demand for computer science teachers in schools. Particularly from 2005 to 2010, while approximately 3,000 students graduated each year, only a handful found employment in schools.

According to statistics from the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, the province currently has 396 computer science teachers in high schools and continuing education programs, teaching 2,317 classes with 3,861 lessons per year, averaging 13 lessons per teacher per year. Thus, the number of recruited computer science teachers is sufficient to meet the teaching needs of schools. Therefore, the Nghe An Department of Education and Training only recruits new teachers annually to replace those who have reached retirement age. In 2012, seven computer science teachers retired, and the Nghe An Department of Education and Training organized a recruitment exam and recruited seven new computer science teachers to replace them.

The reality of graduating but being unable to find a job has led to many negative consequences and wasted economic resources, time, and effort for students. Therefore, many graduates of computer science teacher training universities who cannot find employment have to resort to selling goods or taking on various other menial, manual labor jobs.

Aware of this problem, the number of candidates applying to the Computer Science Education program at Vinh University has decreased significantly since 2011. From 3,000 candidates in 2010, the number dropped to only 15 in 2012, and in the 2013 entrance exam, only 20 candidates submitted applications.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Binh – Head of Training Department, Vinh University

Regarding this issue, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Binh – Head of the Training Department of Vinh University, said: Although there are not enough students enrolled, the university still has to maintain the classes, ensuring no interruption in any academic year, and has various mechanisms such as increasing scholarships to support students studying the major.

However, according to some experts from the Department of Education and Training, the demand for IT education graduates will remain low in the next few years. In particular, the province recently approved a plan to transfer some surplus teachers from other subjects in junior high schools to further their education in IT education, after which they will be assigned to teach this subject to students in junior high schools throughout the province.

Vo Huyen