Tet bonus for teachers: Good signs

(Baonghean.vn) - In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, most schools have finalized their 2011 budgets to balance the Tet bonuses for teachers. However, with 75% of the budget spent on salaries, and even in remote areas, this figure is over 80%, so having a surplus at the end of the year is not easy, and Tet bonuses are considered a "luxury" in the education sector. However, this year, according to a survey of schools in the province, most have accumulated funds to give Tet bonuses to teachers.

When mentioning the issue of Tet bonuses for teachers, Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoan - Deputy Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training said: "How to support additional Tet bonuses for teachers mainly depends on the "flexibility" of the school's Board of Directors, the joint efforts of local authorities and parents, while the Department of Education and Training does not have the resources to support".

Due to the dependence on the "actual situation" and "flexibility" of each school, the Tet bonus level in schools is also different, with clear differences. Schools in cities and towns have the conditions to accumulate income from sources such as: local universities renting premises to organize entrance exams; foreign language and IT centers renting places to teach at night...

In addition, schools that do a good job of socializing education also save a little from the budget, so teachers in these schools can get a better Tet bonus than in other places. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhan - Principal of Hoa Sen Kindergarten (Vinh City) said: "This year, the Tet bonus for teachers at the school is from 1-1.5 million VND. To have the Tet bonus for teachers, in addition to mobilizing teachers to make teaching aids to save on shopping, stationery, electricity, water, welfare fund, the school also has income from renting out business booths..."

Schools in mountainous, remote, and difficult terrain areas do not "know where to look" to spend Tet gifts on teachers. The principal of a high school in the mountainous region said: In mountainous areas, all school expenses depend on the budget from above. And that budget is only enough to pay teachers' salaries. Without money for extra classes, extra hours, and no support from parents, school leaders, although wanting to take care of teachers for a decent Tet, are "powerless". Many schools have "creatively" set aside money to pay for overtime, marking papers, stationery, and bonuses for emulation titles awarded at the end of the year so that teachers have more money to spend on Tet.

However, according to the general survey, this year, the leaders of the units have tried their best to give the staff and teachers better Tet gifts than last year. If last year, among the 30 high schools we surveyed, only Dien Chau 5 High School had a Tet bonus of 1,000,000 VND.

But at the same level, this year there are up to 9 units (including high schools: Phan Boi Chau, Ha Huy Tap, Bac Yen Thanh, Phan Thuc Truc, Do Luong 1, Nguyen Thuc Tu, Cua Lo, Nghi Loc 5 and Continuing Education Center 2); 4 units have a bonus of 600,000 VND; 6 units have a bonus of 500,000 VND; 1 unit has a bonus of 400,000 VND; 11 units have a bonus of 300,000 VND; 3 units have a bonus of 200,000 VND, 2 units have a bonus of 100,000 VND.

Units (kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools) in 9/12 surveyed Departments of Education and Training have an average bonus of 200,000 VND; the unit with the least bonus is 30,000 VND (in Con Cuong) and the unit with the most bonus is 400,000 VND (in Cua Lo, Yen Thanh).

However, there are still many units that do not have Tet gifts for staff and teachers. Among the 45 high schools we surveyed, there were 9 units that did not give Tet bonuses (including 4 high schools: Tuong Duong, Tay Hieu, Do Luong 3, Dien Chau 4; 3 Continuing Education Centers: Que Phong, Yen Thanh, Anh Son; among 12/20 surveyed education departments, there were 3 units belonging to the Department of Education and Training of Quy Chau, Nam Dan, Tuong Duong that did not give Tet bonuses.

Recently, the Nghe An Education Trade Union received 100 million VND from the Can Tho Education Trade Union, and the Provincial Labor Federation donated 6 million VND. This amount was transferred to 335 teachers in difficult circumstances. And most recently, Vinh University donated over 41 million VND to teachers and students in Tuong Duong and Ky Son districts to have a warmer Tet holiday. However, when "waiting" on the self-mobilization of schools and local authorities, there is still a situation where some places provide a lot of support, others provide little or no support. Perhaps, there needs to be a truly clear policy at the macro level so that teachers can also enjoy the joy of receiving Tet bonuses like other officials and civil servants in other professions.

Thanh Phuc - Thao Nhi