One of the new regulations proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in the draft Law on Teachers is that teachers must have a teaching license.
Previously, in the Draft Law on Teachers (2nd time), the Ministry of Education and Training expected that each teacher would have a "Certificate of Practice for Teachers". After that, this certificate received many mixed opinions, many teachers worried that it would create additional procedures and "sub-licenses".
In the draft Law on Teachers (3rd time) just announced, after receiving comments, the Ministry of Education and Training plans to use "practice license" instead of "practice certificate".
In Article 17 of the Draft, the purpose of the teaching practice license as proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training is: Conditions for participating in teacher recruitment; Creating conditions for teachers to expand their professional activities and international cooperation opportunities; Ensuring the quality of guest teachers or freelance teachers; Being the basis for evaluating and adjusting teacher training programs; Being the basis for evaluating the continuous professional development process of teachers, ensuring the quality of education.
In Article 18 of the Draft, there are 3 principles for granting teaching practice licenses: Teaching practice licenses are granted according to educational levels, training qualifications or educational methods; Teaching practice licenses are valid for 10 years and are renewed according to regulations; A person can be granted multiple teaching practice licenses if meeting the prescribed conditions.
The teaching practice license will include the following basic information: Full name; date of birth; personal identification number for Vietnamese teachers; passport number and nationality for foreign teachers; Qualifications, major or specialty; Educational institution organizing training and practice of teaching; Level of study, subject, training level or field permitted for teaching practice and Duration.
To be granted a teaching license, the following conditions must be met: Meet the standard training level of a teacher; Complete the training and practice program at an educational institution as prescribed.
Teaching practice license is valid throughout Vietnam and can be used in other countries under international cooperation programs with Vietnam and according to the regulations of the host country.
Regarding the proposals of the Ministry of Education and Training, there are currently many conflicting opinions. Commenting on the Draft Law on Teachers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed to remove the “Certificate of Practice for Teachers” and said that this regulation is complicated, unnecessary, and creates additional administrative procedures for teachers and education management agencies.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also requested the Ministry of Education and Training to consider the necessity, feasibility and specific impact assessment of the regulation on granting practice certificates to teachers, because this is a new regulation and there are still different opinions. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify whether the practice certificate for teachers is granted corresponding to each level of education or only 01 practice certificate will be applied to all different levels of education.
In addition to the proposal that teachers must have a professional license, the Draft Law on Teachers has many new points related to the rights and obligations of teachers such as: Preschool teachers and teachers of schools for children with disabilities can retire 5 years earlier than prescribed; teachers still receive seniority allowances, preferential allowances and are ranked at the highest salary in the administrative career salary table. Teachers working in difficult areas and young teachers are supported with housing, training and fostering regimes in some cases; the I, II, III rankings for teachers will be abolished and will be divided into the following categories: teachers, main teachers, senior teachers; Principals and directors of educational institutions must ensure the standards of main teachers or main lecturers and meet the standards of governance and management of educational institutions; Principals of higher education institutions must have a doctorate degree...
As planned, the draft Law on Teachers will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and first comments at the 8th session (October 2024) and considered and approved at the 9th session (May 2025).
