HCM City leaders hear teachers’ concerns
Leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and People’s Committee had a meeting last week with educators in the city on the 35th anniversary of Vietnam Teachers’ Day (November 20).
Huynh Cong Minh, former director of the city’s Education and Training Department, raised a question to the city’s leaders: “Can teachers live on their salary?”
He said the salary for teachers in Vietnam was too low, only VND3 million (US$136) for a new graduate.
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| Leaders of the HCM City Party Committee and People’s Committee meet with educators in the city on the 35th anniversary of Vietnam Teachers’ Day, November 20 (Photo: tuoitre.vn) |
Most of participants agreed with Minh, and pointed out that low salary did not encourage teachers to wholeheartedly dedicate to their career.
“A new payment mechanism for teachers will help the city’s education sector develop sustainably,” said Minh.
Delegates also expressed their thoughts on appyling advanced curricula in the school.
Ha Huu Thach, head of the Le Quy Don High school in District 3, said “We suggest the city’s leaders and the Education and Training Department allow us to import internationally well-known advanced curricula to teach in the school along with the current curricula. This act may prevent the brain drain.”
He gave an example that his school lost about 90 excellent students each year to studying abroad, even though advanced curricula and outdoor activities for students were used in the school.
Thach hoped the schools with advanced curricula would apply self-control financial mechanisms soon in order to attract more skilled teachers and to send teachers to study abroad.
In addition, the students’ moral in today society is also a huge challenge to the city’s educators.
Minh said “We are focusing on moral education in the high school, while kindergarten and primary are the best levels for teaching morals.”
He added that the city needed to care more about collaboration between society and the schools.
On behalf of the city’s leaders, Tat Thanh Cang, Vice Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, said that the city’s education sector was facing challenges, such as an unattractive salary mechanism and out-of-date curriculum and textbooks.
Cang said “The city has collected all delegates’ opinions, which will be used for the project on educational development.”
He also expressed the city’s gratitude to educators in the cause of nation building, and developing HCM City.
