Collective and individual review
Lao Dong Newspaper has received a "cry for help" from teachers in Phu Luong district about the collection of one-time allowances for education officials working in areas with difficult conditions according to Decree 76/2019/ND-CP.
Having to repay tens of millions of dong after many years of receiving it has left many teachers in dire straits. Many teachers have to look for ways to make up for the money.
To clarify this issue, PV had a meeting with the Department of Home Affairs of Thai Nguyen province about the collection of benefits in Phu Luong district.
Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Bui Thanh Thuy - Chief Specialist of the Civil Servants and Public Employees Department (Department of Home Affairs of Thai Nguyen province) said that the incident started when Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - a teacher at Hop Thanh Secondary School filed a complaint related to the payment of one-time allowance according to Decree 76.
After that, the Department of Home Affairs of Thai Nguyen province sent a document asking for the opinion of the Ministry of Home Affairs to respond to the citizen's complaint. From the response document of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the case of teacher Nguyen Thi Lan Huong is not eligible for one-time subsidy payment.
In July 2024, the Chairman of the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 1640 on resolving the complaint of Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong. Accordingly, it was concluded that Ms. Huong was not eligible for one-time subsidies under Decree 76. It was requested to review relevant groups and individuals and take steps to correct the wrong subsidies.
“After conducting a review, more than 40 other officials and civil servants in Phu Luong district were also charged with the amount they had received. In October 2024, the People's Committee of Phu Luong district issued Decision No. 2341 on canceling 6 decisions on one-time subsidy payments according to Decree 76. The reason is that the above officials and civil servants are not within the scope and subject of application of the decree. The authority to decide on payment or withdrawal of this one-time subsidy belongs to the People's Committee of Phu Luong district. In the case of teacher Huong, there was a complaint, so the Department of Home Affairs verified and responded to the citizen," Ms. Thuy added.
Still have concerns
Ms. Phan Thi Tu Quyen - Hop Thanh Secondary School (Phu Luong District) as well as many other teachers are still struggling when receiving the decision to withdraw the subsidy money they have received.
“When I retired, I received more than 45 million VND in subsidies. I only saw the money transferred to my account and then claimed it was due to my work in an area with difficult conditions. For teachers in mountainous areas, that is a huge amount of money. When we saw the information that it was being revoked, everyone was surprised and worried. After many years of having to repay such a large amount of money, we didn’t know what to do. Most of the teachers were in mountainous areas, so their economic conditions were quite difficult. Moreover, the time of receiving the money was many years ago, so arranging to return it now is not easy. Especially for teachers who have retired or moved to another place to live,” Ms. Quyen confided.
According to Ms. Hoang Thi Hien Ha - Head of Phu Luong District's Department of Internal Affairs, based on the verification of the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Internal Affairs, it was concluded that the subsidy payment in the district was not to the right subjects. Therefore, Phu Luong District People's Committee has revoked the subsidy payment decisions and proceeded to collect the amount of over 1.2 billion VND.
“Up to now, the locality has basically recovered all the money wrongly spent on one-time subsidies for education officials working in disadvantaged areas. According to information from the Finance and Planning Department, there are only a few cases that have not yet returned the money they received. There are also cases where teachers due to their circumstances asked to pay in installments,” the leader added.
