After graduating from a teacher training college, Ms. Tran Thi Bich Phuong applied to be a contract teacher at a kindergarten in Sa Pa town, Lao Cai province.
In early 2022, Ms. Phuong passed the civil servant exam and was assigned to work at a school 70km away from the city center in Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province.
“It takes 5-6 hours to travel from my house to school. Luckily, my school is near the commune center so the road is not too difficult. I go to school during the week and only go home to visit my family on weekends,” said Ms. Phuong.
With a salary coefficient of 2.1, the female teacher receives a salary of about 9 million VND, including allowances. Ms. Phuong lives with her parents so she does not have to pay rent. She sends her parents 2 million VND/month for food, and the rest she uses for other expenses.
As one of the subjects whose basic salary has increased since July 1, 2024, Ms. Phuong is very happy because her income has improved. However, she thinks that the allowances for preschool teachers are not commensurate.
At the discussion session of the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that despite the difficulties, the Government has allocated about 700,000 billion VND in resources, and by 2026, it will be 930,000 billion VND for salary adjustment. Specifically, implementing salary and insurance subsidy policies, adjusting pensions and subsidies for meritorious people.
However, according to the Minister of Home Affairs, there are still shortcomings in practice and the Government has reported to the Politburo for policy.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Home Affairs will continue to review some subjects with practical shortcomings, such as administrative staff, teachers, especially preschool teachers, and medical staff.
"We will conduct a comprehensive review to propose appropriate adjustments to allowances in accordance with the spirit of the Central Committee's resolution, especially the conclusions issued by the Politburo. This is to ensure that special groups that need more attention and priority are given to ensure a better life for them," Ms. Tra emphasized.
Expressing her views on this issue, National Assembly Delegate (NAD) Nguyen Thi Viet Nga - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong Province - said that teachers and doctors are two important forces, influencing the development of the country. However, the current salary scales of the health and education sectors are not really commensurate. This is also one of the reasons leading to the brain drain in these two important professions.
Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga also pointed out that currently, teachers and doctors have allowances. However, the allowances are not significant, mainly to recognize contributions to the profession. Therefore, Ms. Nga suggested that the allowances for teachers and doctors should be reviewed.
"For specific industries such as healthcare and teaching, in addition to salary, attention should be paid to job-specific allowances. Importantly, job-specific allowances need to be effective in improving income, not just to encourage morale," said National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga.
