31% of teachers in Ho Chi Minh City with English proficiency below B1 have to go back to school?

"Data filtering" English proficiency

Nearly 50,300 public teachers from primary to high school in Ho Chi Minh City have just had their English proficiency surveyed by the Department of Education and Training. Of these, about 4,700 are English teachers, the rest teach other subjects.

Data shows that primary school had the largest number of teachers participating in the survey (nearly 22,300 people), followed by secondary school (about 10,000) and high school (about 8,200).

To have the most objective and accurate view, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City has conducted an in-depth analysis of the initial survey data, dividing it into groups based on reliability. According to Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department, there are three groups identified: reliable data, not reliable enough and no reliable information.

The trusted group is a group of papers by English teachers; teachers of other subjects but the results of 2 skills are equal to or only one level different from the certificate and level they provide themselves; or teachers without a foreign language certificate, the results are below B1 (level 3/6).

The group that is not reliable enough are teachers of other subjects, the test time is short but the results are high, the results are 2 levels different from self-declaration.

Large discrepancy review results

Chart of English proficiency of teachers in Ho Chi Minh City according to reliable survey data (Chart: Huyen Nguyen).

Analysis of data from a trusted group shows that, remarkably, 31% of teachers are at levels A1 and A2 - the two lowest levels in the 6-level foreign language proficiency framework.

Besides, 41% of teachers achieved B1 level, and only 28% achieved B2 or higher.

Comparing by grade level, the English proficiency of primary and secondary school teachers is quite similar, with about 30-33% having a level below B1, 38-43% reaching B1 and 27-29% reaching B2 or higher.

Chart of English proficiency distribution of teachers in Ho Chi Minh City by subject and grade level (Source: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training).

The picture is different at the high school level, with no teachers reaching the C2 level. Notably, up to 45% of high school teachers reached the B2 and C1 levels, a higher rate than primary and secondary school teachers. The rate of teachers with a level below B1 at the high school level is 30%.

The difference is also evident between English teachers and teachers of other subjects. While 8% of English teachers achieved C2 level, the figure for the other group of teachers was 0%. The rate of English teachers achieving C1 was 45%, while the other group was only 2%.

Without data analysis and filtering, the overall assessment can lead to misleading conclusions. For example, if the entire survey data is calculated, only 17% of teachers have a level below B1, much lower than the 31% in the reliable data group. Similarly, the proportion of teachers with B2 and C1 levels (28% and 29%, respectively) is twice as high as if only the reliable data group was considered.

The comparison chart of survey results in the general group is much lower than that of the reliable group (Chart: Huyen Nguyen).

According to the Education Law, from 2020, teachers from primary school and above must have a university degree. Students must meet foreign language standards (English, French, Chinese, Russian...), equivalent to level B1 according to the European reference framework or higher to graduate.

This survey result has raised many concerns in the teaching community in Ho Chi Minh City, especially concerns about being "forced to attend school" if they do not meet the standards or "those who do not have survey results will be dealt with"...

Reassuring about this information, Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City affirmed that the survey results only aim to collect statistics and evaluate the current status of foreign language proficiency of teachers in the area, serving future planning and training work.

"The results are not used to apply any personal requirements such as forcing teachers to attend school, transferring jobs or related to salaries and bonuses," Mr. Minh emphasized.

The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City also said that in the coming time, it will continue to conduct other surveys on digital transformation capacity, subject expertise and soft skills, in order to have a more comprehensive view of the quality of the teaching staff and develop appropriate training plans. All official information will be announced on the Department's official channels.

The English proficiency test for public school teachers was organized by the Department at the end of April. All teachers took a 90-minute online test, covering listening, reading and writing skills according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), from A1 to C2. The test was designed by the University of Cambridge English Language Assessment.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/31-giao-vien-tphcm-co-trinh-do-tieng-anh-duoi-b1-co-phai-di-hoc-lai-20250507234605141.htm