The demand for public housing is still very large
Ms. Truong Thi Ngoc Luu - Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Ninh Chau High School (Quang Ninh District) - said that the scene had 7 public rooms serving staff, teachers and workers. However, due to being built a long time ago, these rooms have seriously degraded.
"Teachers and workers here have proactively repainted it during use. However, this repair is only temporary. The union has proposed to superiors to repair and replace public housing to ensure living conditions for teachers" - Ms. Luu said.
Not only Ninh Chau High School, many other schools in Quang Binh province are in a similar situation. In particular, in remote areas - where economic conditions are still difficult - teachers face many shortages of housing.
According to statistics from the Quang Binh Provincial Education Department, the whole province currently has 1,389 rooms in public housing, arranged for 1,872 cadres, teachers and staff who need to stay at school to serve teaching work. Meanwhile, there are still nearly 3,000 cadres, teachers, and staff, including more than 2,000 female teachers, who are in need of public housing but have not been arranged. Notably, nearly 1,000 teachers and staff have to rent their own houses for living and working, creating more financial pressure for those working away from home, especially in disadvantaged areas.
Need for more resources to ensure housing
Ms. Dinh Thi Ngoc Lan - President of the Quang Binh Provincial Federation of Labor (LDLD) - said that in recent years, the issue of building public housing for teachers has received special attention from all levels and sectors. However, due to increasing demand, investment funding is still not enough to meet demand. "Every year, the Provincial Federation of Labor aims to support the construction or repair of 1-2 new or more boarding houses, about 5-10 rooms/year for union members and workers in remote, isolated and extremely disadvantaged areas from the Provincial Trade Union Social Fund" - Ms. Lan informed.
The maximum support level for new construction is 1 billion VND/works, while the maximum support level for repair is 300 million VND/works. The Provincial Federation of Labor has proposed that localities be allowed to invest in additional capital of about 30% to increase the efficiency of public housing projects.
Although there are support policies, in reality, the fund is still limited, not meeting actual needs. Meanwhile, teachers in remote areas have to face poor living conditions, affecting teaching quality as well as long-term life.
The Chairman of the Quang Binh Provincial Federation of Labor hopes that the government will have more support mechanisms and supplement capital to invest in building public housing for teachers, cadres and workers, especially in disadvantaged areas. Having a stable place to live, teachers can work with peace of mind and stay in the education sector for a long time.
