On the morning of December 18, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor held a scientific workshop on policies and regimes for teachers in disadvantaged areas who are union members.
Speaking at the discussion, teacher Trinh Thi Sen, a member of the Trade Union of the Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities in Hoang Su Phi district, Ha Giang province, said that currently the implementation of policies for teachers in Ha Giang still faces difficulties and obstacles.
In particular, although there are preferential policies on salary and allowances for teachers in mountainous areas such as attraction allowances, preferential allowances according to profession and allowances when accepting a job, the income level is still not enough to cover living expenses.
Teachers’ income is still low, mainly salary, so it does not meet living needs, especially for teachers working in remote, isolated and extremely difficult areas. This makes it impossible for many teachers to stick with the profession for a long time.
According to teacher Trinh Thi Sen, in recent years, the situation of "bleeding" teachers has occurred in many mountainous districts of Ha Giang. Retaining teachers seems to have become much more difficult because the living and traveling conditions in mountainous districts are very difficult. In the 2023-2024 school year, Ha Giang province has more than 120 teachers applying to transfer to work in other provinces. That makes the situation of teacher shortage in Ha Giang province even more urgent and difficult.
According to teacher Trinh Thi Sen, to temporarily overcome the shortage of teachers, superiors have arranged for teachers to teach in schools that lack teachers. Many teachers have to teach at 2-3 schools at the same time. This poses great difficulties for teachers because most schools and communes are at least more than ten kilometers apart. Although teachers try their best to overcome difficulties and complete their assigned tasks, they cannot avoid worries and disturbances.
Teacher Trinh Thi Sen proposed that the Government consider amending and supplementing Decree No. 76/2019/ND-CP in the direction of not controlling the time of receiving the attraction allowance (5 years) but applying the attraction policy to civil servants and public employees during the entire working time in areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions.
Teacher Pham Thi Nghi, a Literature teacher at Quan Hoa High School, Quan Hoa District, Thanh Hoa Province, also raised concerns about allowances.
According to Ms. Pham Thi Nghi, teachers in disadvantaged areas often receive allowances such as attraction allowances and special allowances.
"However, the allocation and implementation of these policies in some localities is still inconsistent, leading to inequality between regions. For example, Quan Hoa, Quan Son, and Muong Lat districts are the three most remote districts of Thanh Hoa province, but currently only Muong Lat district enjoys the attraction, while Quan Hoa and Quan Son districts have been cut off...", the female teacher said.
In addition, although there have been adjustments in the teachers’ salary scale, the actual salary of teachers in disadvantaged areas is still low compared to living needs. Market prices in the highlands are often much more expensive than in the lowlands. This affects the motivation and quality of education.
Teacher Pham Thi Nghi proposed to improve the treatment regime for teachers in difficult areas. Accordingly, there should be more specific measures to improve the allowance and salary regime for teachers, ensuring a minimum standard of living.
Along with that, it is necessary to clearly stipulate the levels of attraction allowances and special allowances and ensure consistent implementation across the country, avoiding discrimination between regions.
