6 important contents in the Law on Teachers

The Law on Teachers consists of 9 chapters and 42 articles, and will come into effect on January 1, 2026. According to the Ministry of Education and Training , this is an important milestone affirming the major policy of the Party and the State in honoring, caring for, protecting, and developing the teaching staff – the key force in the education system.

Affirming the position, protecting the honor and prestige of the teaching profession.

The Law on Teachers establishes a full legal status for teachers in both public and private educational institutions. For the first time, teachers in private institutions are recognized as a specialized profession with similar professional standards, rights, and obligations, not just contract workers as before.

The law clearly stipulates the right to respect, protection of honor and dignity, and a mechanism for strictly handling acts that insult teachers, including prohibiting individuals and organizations from disseminating information that accuses teachers before an official conclusion is reached by the competent authorities. This is a crucial point aimed at protecting teachers from unreasonable social pressures and maintaining a safe and civilized educational environment.

Teachers' salaries are among the highest.

This is an important basis for the Government to make regulations regarding teachers' salaries, ensuring the principle of "highest ranking". In the draft Decree regulating salary policies, allowances, support and attraction regimes for teachers in the draft Law on Teachers, the Ministry of Education and Training plans to advise the Government to reclassify the salary scale of some teaching positions (such as preschool, primary, and university preparatory teachers, vocational education teachers of grade IV, etc.) to ensure uniformity in the salary scale applied to professional positions of teachers and civil servants in other sectors and fields; at the same time, ensuring the living standards of teachers, helping them to work with peace of mind and dedicate themselves to the cause of education.

In addition, according to the law, teachers are also entitled to special allowances, responsibility allowances, preferential allowances, subsidies for disadvantaged areas, allowances for inclusive education, seniority allowances, mobility allowances, etc., contributing to an overall increase in income.

Policies to protect, support, and attract high-quality human resources.

The Law on Teachers expands and consolidates the system of support policies, emphasizing: Support for public housing or rent for teachers in particularly difficult areas; Regular health allowances, training and professional development for all teachers, regardless of whether they work in public or private institutions; Priority in recruitment, assignment, and appointment for teachers working in remote areas, border regions, and islands; Attracting highly qualified and skilled professionals to participate in teaching, especially in strategic fields such as science, technology, digital transformation, and vocational education.

Preschool teachers who wish to retire early can do so up to 5 years earlier without a reduction in pension (provided they have contributed to social insurance for 15 years). Meanwhile, professors, associate professors, doctors, or educators working in specialized fields can retire at an older age to retain talent.

Standardizing and developing the workforce – improving the quality of education.

The law consolidates two systems of standards (professional titles and professional standards) into a single system of professional titles linked to professional competency standards, applicable uniformly to both public and private institutions.

This aims to create a common quality standard for the entire teaching staff; ensure fairness in access to quality education for students; and increase transparency and accessibility in the evaluation, selection, and training of teachers.

The law also stipulates that the recruitment of teachers must be linked to pedagogical practice, ensuring quality input that is appropriate for each educational level and training qualification.

Professional ethics and mechanisms for protecting the reputation of teachers.

For the first time, the ethics of educators have been codified into law with specific rules of conduct in their relationships with students, colleagues, students' families, and society. The law defines the responsibility of setting a good example as an inseparable part of the professional activities of educators – demonstrated through exemplary conduct, integrity, and dedication in teaching and social interaction.

Notably, the Law stipulates a mechanism to protect teachers from acts that violate their honor, dignity, and reputation, especially prohibiting the dissemination of false accusations on social media before an official conclusion has been reached. Such acts will be dealt with according to the law.

Besides the right to protection, teachers also have the responsibility to uphold professional ethics. Strictly addressing violations contributes to enhancing the status of teachers and maintaining pedagogical standards in the educational environment.

Empowering the Education sector to take initiative.

The Law on Teachers grants the education sector autonomy in recruiting and employing teachers. Specifically, it unifies the authority of the education sector to proactively recruit teachers, decentralizing recruitment authority to the heads of public higher education institutions and vocational education institutions, allowing them to independently recruit teachers.

The law grants the Minister of Education and Training the authority to regulate the recruitment of teachers in preschool, primary, secondary, and continuing education institutions.

Granting authority to the Ministry of Education in the recruitment and employment of teachers is a crucial adjustment aimed at removing policy bottlenecks regarding teachers, especially in addressing the issue of teacher shortages and surpluses; and proactively coordinating and planning short-term, medium-term, and long-term teacher development plans for the future.

The law also stipulates that the Ministry of Education and Training is the lead agency coordinating with other Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees to develop strategies, projects, and plans for the development and overall staffing of the teaching staff under its management authority, submitting them to competent authorities for decision; and coordinating with other Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees to propose to competent authorities for approval the number of teaching staff in public educational institutions.

Immediately after the law was approved by the National Assembly, the Ministry of Education and Training promptly drafted two decrees and nearly 20 circulars to guide its implementation, ensuring they were issued simultaneously with the law's effective date of January 1, 2026. This system of documents will concretize the law's policies, ensuring consistency, feasibility, and effectiveness in practice.

Minh Trang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/6-noi-dung-quan-important-trong-luat-nha-giao-post551880.html