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.
Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor; Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education; Ms. Vu Thi Giang Huong, Member of the Presidium, Head of the Propaganda Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor chaired the meeting.
Speaking at the workshop, teacher Dinh Van Huan, union member, Principal of Mai Long Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities (Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province) raised difficulties in living conditions of teachers in mountainous areas.
According to the principal, many teachers working in mountainous areas have "3 no's - no roads, no electricity, no phone signal", especially in places with "4 no's - no roads, no electricity, no phone signal, no running water".
At night, when preparing lesson plans, I have to tie a flashlight to my head, and my brick phone is hung by a wire somewhere, so that I can occasionally hear calls from family members.
According to Mr. Dinh Van Huan, at some schools in the highlands, the shortage of domestic water occurs all year round, and becomes more serious during the dry season (from October to April every year). The main reason is that the schools and school sites are built on high ground, in arid areas, without water or far from water sources, so they are not enough to meet daily needs...
The temporary solution of the schools is to encourage students on their way to school to actively collect water from streams, public water tanks... and bring it to school to serve their daily needs; the teaching staff overcomes this by collecting rainwater and storing it in tanks, water tanks, barrels, plastic barrels... and using it economically.
According to the principal, in Mai Long commune, the accommodation of teachers at the school is a wooden room, with a dirt floor, and a fibro-cement roof, damp, built by parents and teachers for temporary accommodation (but turned into permanent and long-term accommodation).
The solution during rainy and windy days, teachers living in the temporary house are only worried about the strong wind blowing off the roof, without anyone telling them, teachers "take shelter under the bed", the safest place in the temporary room made of wood, bamboo... and surrounded by tarpaulins to prevent wind.
"However, teachers are still attached to this place, not only because of their passion for their profession, but also because of their responsibility to the community, even though their personal lives have to sacrifice many things, including restless nights of fear of storms and whirlwinds," Mr. Huan shared.
Mr. Dinh Van Huan recommended that in planning schools and classrooms at schools and school locations, attention should be paid to allocating land funds and resources to build public housing for teachers; focusing on investing in facilities and infrastructure serving education in difficult and border areas, improving the quality of teaching and learning.
Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, said that there are currently preferential and specific policies for teachers in mountainous areas, but implementation still has many shortcomings.
Many policies are not really satisfactory compared to the contributions and sacrifices of teachers; the application of special allowances is difficult to implement in some localities; the allowances, although quite high compared to the general salary level, are not attractive enough to retain many teachers...
Difficult living conditions for teachers are also a current problem: roads, lack of solid housing, lack of clean water, lack of electricity...
The Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor said that, as a representative organization caring for and protecting union members and workers, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor organized a workshop to study and propose policies for teachers in disadvantaged areas who are union members with the desire to provide the best care, ensure conditions for teachers to contribute; increase opportunities for children in disadvantaged areas to go to school...
