The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced a draft Circular regulating the appointment, salary ranking, professional standards and working regime for vocational secondary school teachers to collect comments.
Appointment and salary ranking for vocational secondary school teachers
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, vocational secondary school is a concept, model, and new program stipulated in the 2025 Law on Vocational Education. Therefore, the detailed regulation on appointment, salary ranking, professional standards and working regimes for vocational secondary school teachers is implemented in parallel with the draft document regulating the standards of the vocational secondary education program, documents regulating the regulations on training, testing, evaluation, and graduation diplomas of the vocational secondary education program, standards of vocational training institutions and related documents to guide and detail the Law on Vocational Education.
The Ministry expects vocational secondary school teachers to include 4 titles: Practical vocational secondary school teacher, vocational secondary school teacher, principal vocational secondary school teacher, senior vocational secondary school teacher, similar to the title of lecturer, teacher teaching other programs and training levels in vocational education (college lecturer, intermediate teacher).
Regulations on ranking salaries into the corresponding salary scale are currently in place, ensuring uniformity and synchronization of other teacher titles in public educational institutions under the national education system.
Regarding professional standards, based on the expected vocational secondary education program (50% core knowledge block of the high school education program and 50% subject block, vocational module), the expected professional standards for vocational secondary school teachers include:
Practical vocational secondary school teachers are teachers who teach practical subjects and professional modules in the program, requiring a standard level of training as prescribed by the Law on Vocational Education (graduated from college or with professional practice capacity).
Vocational secondary school teachers: include 2 groups with the same requirement of standard training level being university graduates.
Specifically, for teachers teaching high school subjects: Similar to the professional standards for high school teachers specified in the draft Circular regulating the current professional standards for high school teachers.
For teachers teaching subjects and professional modules: Similar to the professional standards for intermediate/primary teachers (meeting the regulations on output standards of the vocational secondary education program) specified in the draft Circular regulating professional standards for teachers teaching elementary and intermediate levels (undergoing promulgation) and Circular No. 07/2023/TT-BLĐTBXH (current regulations).
Primary vocational secondary school teachers: Similar requirements for the standard training level of primary high school teachers (graduated from university); especially for vocational secondary school teachers teaching integrated in subjects and professional modules, they must further meet the requirements for professional practice capacity.
High-level vocational secondary school teachers: Similar requirements for the standard qualifications trained by high-level high school teachers or high-level elementary school teachers (graduating with a master's degree or bachelor's degree and having professional practice capacity); especially for vocational secondary school teachers teaching integrated in subjects, professional modules must meet the requirements for professional practice capacity.
Professional ethics is generally regulated like other teacher titles.
The Ministry is expected to require pedagogical competence to teach vocational secondary education programs or teach intermediate level or higher.
Practical teaching skills at the elementary or intermediate level or higher (corresponding to the output standards according to regulations in the vocational secondary education program).
Professional standard training certificate for vocational education teachers (used in common with teachers teaching various levels in vocational education).
Working regime
According to the draft Circular, vocational secondary school teachers teaching high school subjects, working hours and teaching hours norms are expected to be built in line with the working regime for high school teachers specified in Circular No. 05/2025/TT-BGDĐT.
Vocational secondary school teachers teaching subjects and professional modules: The working regime is expected to be built similarly to the working regime for teachers teaching intermediate level specified in the draft Circular regulating the working regime for vocational education teachers.
The summer vacation time is built according to the provisions of the draft Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Teachers.
The overtime teaching regime and the regime of reducing standard hour norms are expected to be built in line with the working regime for teachers teaching intermediate level as stipulated in the draft Circular regulating the working regime for VET teachers.
The draft Circular is being consulted from now until the end of April 4, 2026.
