The above are short lines written by Uncle Ho in his last letter to the Education sector in October 1968, that is, just nearly 1 year before the Great passed away.
I feel more deeply the phrases "very important", "very glorious" that Uncle Ho sent to teachers nearly 60 years ago when reviewing videos and articles in Lao Dong Newspaper about special teachers and special students.
That is the story of Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung of Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School in Ho Chi Minh City and teacher Vo Thi Son in the charity class in O Mon ward, Can Tho city.
Two different people, in two different localities but sharing the same passion: Lighting the fire of hope and love for disadvantaged children who have had difficult circumstances for decades.
In 1988, graduating from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung was assigned to Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School for the Gifted, where only students "see with their hearts". Initially, he assigned me to teach for a few years and then transferred to another school. But then, it was the sight of the desire to learn of invisible children that made him stay for 3 decades.
The teacher said: At that time, I taught them weaving and making brushes. But what makes me most determined is that they make it difficult for me to travel. Without light, every step of the children is full of danger. I wondered: What can I do to help them walk with my own feet? And I decided to take extra classes to teach them moving subjects".
From there, the stick becomes a pen, the road becomes a page, and each lesson is a story about determination. In grade 1, students learn how to feel space - hearing the sound of wind, cars, and shoes touching the ground. When they were older, they practiced with a tour guide, and then in grade 3 they were given the first " staff friend".
People on Nguyen Chi Thanh - Ho Chi Minh City street are no longer unfamiliar with Mr. Hung's figure and the constant sound of sticks. Here, each step is a small victory of determination, and Mr. Hung is the one who lights up that path.
Ms. Vo Thi Son is 78 years old this year. She said that after graduating and being assigned to the locality to teach the Binh Trup Education class since 1975, the female teacher realized that there were many children in the area who could not go to school because their families were poor. So her love class was born from that.
With the desire to teach for free to make up for the children's needs, Ms. Son did not hesitate to take her own pension to buy books, notebooks, and textbooks for her students. The class maintains a stable score of about 25 students in the main school year, but in the summer alone, the number can increase to 50.
Ms. Son's class has been maintained for 50 years and has witnessed many generations of students growing up. The green shoots of previous years are now solid adults, some children even return to visit their old classrooms, giving school supplies and desks and chairs to their children in the back years. "For a long time, when students come to visit and see them succeed, I am very happy. Giving up teaching, I just hope to have that, Ms. Son shared.
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The story of Mr. Hung and Ms. Son are just two of countless stories about teachers who are trying to keep the fire and burn knowledge. We talk about equality in access to education, students are the center and build happy schools. In the very humane orientation of the Party and State, there have been clear changes, related to teachers themselves.
In the era of exploding knowledge, when human knowledge increases day by day and the life cycle of knowledge is getting shorter, lifelong learning is no longer a slogan but an inevitable requirement of every person, every country. In the article Lifetime Learning, General Secretary To Lam emphasized: Lifetime learning to dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to sacrifice for the common good, to become useful people for society. In that journey, the team of teachers - those who sow the seeds of knowledge - play a central role, being the ones who lead and inspire to make society a "learning society", where every citizen is encouraged to study continuously.
Right from the beginning of the founding of the country, President Ho Chi Minh considered never-ending education as the root of progress. The person emphasized, "The closer society goes, the more sophisticated the machine is, if we refuse to study, we will be behind, and if we are behind, we will be eliminated". That idea is still valid and was inherited by General Secretary To Lam, developing it into an action motto in the context of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution and global digital transformation.
Teachers are the ones who inspire, arousing the desire to learn in each generation of students. They are the first to help students realize that studying is not only for exams and degrees, but learning is to know, to do, to coexist, to assert themselves and contribute to society. A real teacher is one who sows in the hearts of students the belief that: Knowledge does not stop behind the school door, but the journey of lifelong learning only begins from there.
In the context of rapid changes in the world, the role of teachers does not stop at teaching knowledge but is also an orientation, nurturing self-study and self-adjustment skills for learners. Many studies have shown that 65% of current jobs will disappear or change completely in the next 10 years due to technology. Therefore, teachers cannot be " informaticians" but must become "people who create a learning environment", helping students practice critical thinking, adaptive skills and self-innovation capacity.
From urban to rural areas, from universities to community classes, teachers are still quietly playing a central role in the "learning society". In many disadvantaged areas, teachers not only teach literature but also teach vocational skills, teach life skills, help people know how to apply scientific advances to production, escape poverty and get rich legitimately. In the city, the teaching staff is a pioneer in digital transformation of education, bringing technology into the classroom, opening up new horizons of knowledge for students.
They are the living proof of the spirit of " lifelong learning", when constantly learning, innovating methods, updating knowledge to not be behind the world that is constantly moving.
No one can inspire learning better than a teacher who always studies. Every class hour, each lesson is the result of the training, research, and self-study process of teachers. For them, the spirit of lifelong learning is not only a professional responsibility but also a way of life, a source of pride in their profession.
There are teachers at the age of "the third generation of the modern age" who are still studying foreign languages, information technology, and doing doctoral theses to "set an example for their students". They understand that if teachers stop studying, learners will also lose their shining example. It is these people who have been fostering social belief that studying is a journey without stopping.
General Secretary To Lam affirmed: " revolutionaries must study all their lives, study in books, learn from each other and learn from the people". For the teaching staff, this becomes more sacred than ever. Each teacher, in each lesson, in each behavior, is carrying out a great mission - nurturing the spirit of self-study, self-reliance, and self-rescement of the young generation, contributing to the formation of a new generation of Vietnamese people: With intelligence, ethics, and aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country.
Many Vietnamese teachers have pioneered the application of information technology, building "digital schools", "virtual classrooms", creating a flexible and personalized learning environment for learners. From online lectures to open courses, from STEM classes to STEAM education models, teachers are constantly innovating teaching and learning methods to not only convey knowledge but also arouse students' creativity, innovation and lifelong learning.
Teachers of the digital age not only teach "knowledge", but also teach "how to learn", "how to live" and "how to do things for others". They help students understand that knowledge is not in textbooks but is in the self-study process, the continuous self-discovery of each individual.
Building a learning society can only succeed if the teaching staff is truly the center of that process. General Secretary To Lam emphasized the need to "complete the education system in an open, flexible, and interconnected direction, creating lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens." To do so, special attention must be paid to training, treatment, and honoring teachers - those who are creating knowledge and inspiring learning for the whole society.
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I have asked many teachers a single question: "What are the hopes of teachers when November 20?" The majority replied: "I hope to have a better educational environment". Very few people, almost no one, even say directly about the issue: "We need more stable salaries and income to keep the passion for the profession".
Teachers are like that, with a very high sense of self-respect, they always consider their mission as glorious and their difficulties, especially in terms of income, are something that is hard to say.
A teacher in Huong Khe (Ha Tinh) said that every day she rides a motorbike for a total of 40km to teach at a school for children of the Cha ethnic group. Her love for her career does not need to be discussed, but once, she confided that she has to teach far away, partly because the regime for teachers in remote schools is somewhat better down the road.
The education sector has faced and is facing a shortage of teachers. One of the main reasons is that teachers quit their jobs because the treatment regime is still low.
In a heartfelt letter to teachers, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son once raised the issue: "We will work together, gather intelligence, and unite to make education better and better. Innovation needs to start from teachers and develop teachers, innovation in accordance with reality, starting from practice, based on practice, solving problems from practice to improve the quality of education today better than yesterday, tomorrow better than today in a strategic direction".
The Minister added: We need to strengthen social trust, but to do so, we must first of all be confident in ourselves, believe in the ability, qualities, and ethics of teachers that we have and are building. There are still many concerns and worries, disadvantages and even injustices. At times like that, look towards your beloved students, the highest right and the greatest compensation lie there. That is the source of inspiration and endless creative energy for our teachers.
A series of new Resolutions and new policies are expected to further improve the status of teachers.
Resolution 71-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in education and training development signed by General Secretary To Lam on August 22, 2025 requires: Having special and outstanding incentive policies for the teaching staff; raising vocational incentives for preschool and general education institutions to a minimum of 70% for teachers, a minimum of 30% for employees, 100% for teachers in particularly difficult areas, border areas, islands, and ethnic minority areas. Develop appropriate policies to mobilize talented people outside of the teaching and training force to participate in teaching and training in educational institutions; implement a co-curricular lecturer regime for talented people working at public service units; have a mechanism to encourage the mobilization of talented people to preside over scientific research activities at educational institutions.
Implementing this policy, the Ministry of Education and Training has also published a Draft Decree regulating salary policies and allowance regimes for teachers to collect widely received comments from agencies, organizations and individuals. According to the draft, all teachers are entitled to a special salary coefficient. In which, preschool teachers are entitled to a rate of 1.25. Other teacher positions are entitled to 1.15 compared to the current salary coefficient...
For teachers teaching at schools, classes for people with disabilities, centers to support the development of integrated education, and boarding schools in border areas, the salary coefficient will be added by 0.05 compared to the prescribed level.
The specific salary coefficient is directly multiplied by the current salary and is not used to calculate allowances. Thus, with a total of more than 1.2 million teachers today, according to calculations by the Ministry of Education and Training, when applying this policy, the budget will generate about 1,652 billion VND per year, mainly for preschool and general education teachers - the two levels of education accounting for the largest number in the national education system.
In addition, teachers appointed to the title of professor will be applied a senior expert salary table of 3 levels: 8.8 - 9.4 - 10.0, demonstrating recognition of professional capacity, scientific prestige and the role of knowledge leadership. The Ministry of Education and Training believes that applying the senior expert salary table to professors is in line with their position and role in the training and research system, while creating motivation to attract and retain talent for higher education.
Not only adjusting salaries, the Draft Decree also expands a series of new allowance regimes to protect the rights and encourage teachers to work with peace of mind. In which, teachers are entitled to work responsibility allowances, mobile allowances and heavy, toxic, and dangerous allowances. Notably, the mobile allowance will be applied to teachers who are seconded, teach inter-schools or have to travel between many schools to teach, with a rate of 0.2 times the basic salary for each mobile day. Teachers who teach practice in toxic environments such as laboratories, practice workshops, places with chemicals, dust, or radioactive rays will receive allowances from 0.1 to 0.4 times the basic salary, depending on actual conditions.
These regulations are considered to overcome the shortcomings that have lasted for many years, when teachers who teach practice, are seconded or work at schools in remote areas are not paid accordingly.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the promulgation of the new Decree is not only a step to implement the Law on Teachers, but also a step to concretize the Party's policy on salary policy innovation, contributing to building a team of teachers with stable income, being honored by society and wholeheartedly accepting the profession.
These changes are creating a new driving force in education, for teachers themselves - those who are "the seed of knowledge", the "never-shut down light" in the journey to build a learning society. In the new era, they are not only teachers but also leaders in thinking, arousing aspirations, nurturing the spirit of lifelong learning for the younger generation and the community, carrying out the "very important and glorious" task as President Ho Chi Minh taught.
