Vocational allowances are one of the important policies to improve income, retain and motivate the teaching staff. Recently, the regulation on the minimum vocational allowance of 70% has attracted the attention of many teachers, especially after the National Assembly issued a new Resolution on specific policies for the education sector.
What regulations are applying to preferential occupational allowances?
According to current regulations, not all teachers are entitled to a rate of 70%, but this rate is only for a part of teachers working in a specific area.
Currently, the preferential allowance regime according to the profession for teachers is being implemented according to Decree No. 77/2021/ND-CP dated August 1, 2021 of the Government.
According to this regulation, vocational preferential allowances are calculated at a percentage of current salary, plus leadership position allowances and seniority allowances exceeding the framework (if any). Current popular benefits include:
25%: Applicable to teachers teaching in higher education institutions, pedagogical colleges, and pedagogical intermediate schools;
30% - 35% - 50%: Applicable to preschool, general education teachers, depending on school level and working conditions;
70%: Only applicable to teachers working in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions according to the list prescribed by the Government.
Time for teachers to receive preferential allowances
According to Article 6 of Decree 77/2021/ND-CP, teachers are entitled to preferential allowances from the date of the decision on teaching and education assignment by the educational institution. The allowance is paid in the same monthly salary period.
Summer vacation, holidays, Tet holiday, maternity leave under the social insurance regime are still counted for preferential allowances;
Long-term concentrated study time, secondment or not directly teaching are not entitled to this allowance;
In case of late payment, teachers are allowed to collect allowances according to regulations.
From 2026, minimum vocational allowance of 70%
A major shift in teacher compensation policies was established in Resolution No. 248/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly on specific and outstanding policies for human resources in the education sector.
According to Clause 2, Article 2 of Resolution 248/2025/QH15, preferential allowances for teachers are stipulated as follows:
Minimum 70% for teachers in public preschools and general education institutions;
Minimum 30% for school staff;
100% for teachers working in border areas, islands, ethnic minority areas and mountainous areas, areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.
This Resolution takes effect from January 1, 2026. However, the National Assembly also clearly stated that the implementation of vocational allowances will follow the roadmap prescribed by the Government.
This means that from January 1, 2026, teachers will not automatically receive the right rate of 70%, but need to wait for the Government's guiding decree to specify the subjects, the benefit level and the source of expenditure.
While waiting for the document guiding the implementation of Resolution 248/2025/QH15, the current vocational allowance regime is still applied according to Decree 77/2021/ND-CP.
However, the 70% level is established as a future floor, demonstrating the orientation to fundamentally improve the income of the teaching staff.
