Proposal to zoning localities according to conditions, improving English teacher capacity
According to the submission of the Investment Policy for the National Target Program on modernization and improvement of the quality of education and training for the 2026-2035 period, the total resources mobilized to implement the program for the 2026-2035 period are about 580,133 billion VND. The program is expected to be implemented in 10 years (from 2026-2035) and divided into 2 phases.
One of the program's important goals is to "make English the second language in preschool and general education institutions, with a mark of 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2035".
Delegate Nguyen Thi Lan Anh (Lao Cai Delegation) agreed with the above policy, but warned that the application of the 30% target nationwide is unfair and unrealistic. According to her, in reality, many mountainous provinces still have a serious shortage of English teachers, and some schools even have difficulty attracting teachers.
"This is almost impossible in a short time, in difficult areas, English teachers currently do not lack jobs in big cities, so it is very difficult to attract them to remote, isolated and disadvantaged areas without special treatment policies" - the female delegate analyzed.
Therefore, she proposed dividing the local groups according to the following conditions: Special-difficult areas at 20%; difficult areas at 25%; the remaining localities at 30% or more. At the same time, it is necessary to prioritize funding for purchasing equipment and training teachers for disadvantaged areas, avoiding the goal of becoming a "paper job" that cannot be done in areas with a shortage of human resources and infrastructure.
Delegate Huynh Thi Anh Suong (Quang Ngai Delegation) proposed to build a feasible and synchronous roadmap between facilities, teaching equipment, programs, textbooks and the teaching staff and recommended that the Ministry of Education and Training study the compilation of bilingual textbooks in Vietnamese - English and English for the subjects, so that schools can choose them in accordance with practical conditions...
Strong enough policy is needed to attract English teachers
Delegate Tran Khanh Thu (Hung Yen delegation) said that the problem is that we currently lack about 4,000 English teachers at all levels of general education (according to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training). Team capacity is also a problem. On the other hand, the average age of English teachers is currently quite high (44.2 years old).
Therefore, the female delegate suggested that there should be a specific roadmap to implement these contents, especially in mountainous provinces and disadvantaged areas. In particular, it is necessary to increase investment in facilities for provinces, especially mountainous provinces, such as supporting the construction of standard foreign language rooms for 100% of mountainous district schools before 2030; prioritizing mountainous areas, border areas, and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.
There needs to be a strong enough policy to attract high-quality English teachers, such as increasing allowances to attract up to 70-100% of basic salary for teachers in disadvantaged areas; supporting housing, committing to long-term contracts.
In addition, there should be policies to promote the application of technology, connect online classes, use artificial intelligence (AI) to support to compensate for teacher shortages; build an English center in disadvantaged areas according to the inter-commune model.
Delegate Ha Anh Phuong (Phu Tho Delegation) warned about the difference between teaching English as a foreign language and teaching English as a second language: Investment level, quality standards and teaching methods are different according to school level and region.
The female delegate emphasized the risk of waste if she only focuses on equipment without at the same time improving teacher capacity, improving the program and creating a practical environment. Therefore, according to the delegate, it is necessary to stipulate the scope, roadmap and model implementation rate in accordance with the conditions of each locality, while amending the goals in the draft to ensure feasibility and fairness.
