At a recent meeting with voters and civil servants in Phu Yen province, Ms. Bui Thi Bich Thuy (Hoa Mai Kindergarten, Song Hinh district, Phu Yen) said, "Our preschool teachers are responsible for taking care of and nurturing children from 3-6 years old. Taking care of children at this age requires preschool teachers to be highly focused throughout their working hours to ensure the safety of the children."
According to Ms. Thuy, in reality, due to the nature of their work, preschool teachers often have to arrive at school early in the morning to pick up children, and finish work late when all the children have been picked up by their families. Thus, during the work process, preschool teachers are under a lot of pressure, causing psychological inhibition that affects their health, physical and mental health.
"During the entire class, preschool teachers must organize activities that require continuous movement such as dancing, singing, and taking care of hyperactive children. This requires teachers to be in good health and have quick reflexes. Therefore, if preschool teachers are old, they will no longer be creative, less flexible, have poor health, and will no longer be agile enough to ensure care and education, especially ensuring the safety of children" - Ms. Thuy confided.
Representing the voice of workers at the facility, Ms. Thuy proposed that the National Assembly stipulate that the retirement age for preschool teachers should be at most 5 years lower than the general age, which is appropriate.
Sharing the same thoughts about the retirement age of preschool teachers as Ms. Thuy, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung, 51 years old, a teacher at a public preschool in Nha Trang City, said: "After nearly 30 years in the profession, at this age I am no longer quick enough to take care of the children like when I was younger."
According to Ms. Dung, in addition to experience and skills developed over time, it is really difficult for older preschool teachers to take on the job of directly raising children until the age of 60. Because the working time of preschool teachers is from early morning to late afternoon, in the process of raising children, it requires decorating the classroom, creating tools... and moreover, the pressure from parents for many older teachers is even heavier.
"If we retire at the age of 60, many preschool teachers like me will not be able to stick with the profession until the end. Recently, through the media, I heard about the draft Law on Teachers, which provides for teachers to retire 5 years earlier than the regulations, and adds the case of preschool teachers and teachers of schools for children with disabilities with the retirement age at 55 years old. We are very happy that the voices of workers have been heard," said Ms. Dung.
According to statistics from the Department of Education and Training of Khanh Hoa province, in the 2022-2023 school year, the province has nearly 4,500 preschool teachers. Of these, 362 are teachers aged 50 and over, and 288 are kindergarten teachers.
