Supplementing policies to build and develop the teaching staff

Continuing the session's agenda, on the afternoon of November 9th, the National Assembly held group discussions on the draft Law on Teachers.

National Assembly representative Tran Thi Kim Nhung from Quang Ninh province delivers a speech. Photo: Minh Duc/TTXVN

Sharing their views on the sidelines of the session, many National Assembly deputies agreed on the necessity of developing a Law on Teachers to institutionalize the Party's views and policies on teachers. At the same time, it contributes to perfecting the legal system and promptly supplementing new, specific policies to build and develop the teaching staff.

The opinions suggest that the drafting agency should continue to review and fully and comprehensively assess the impact of the new policy, especially regarding financial resources, to ensure its feasibility. At the same time, it is necessary to carefully study international experiences and refer to policies and laws concerning teachers to refine the draft Law to suit the practical conditions of our country.

Representative Tran Thi Kim Nhung (Quang Ninh) argued that the Law on Teachers contributes to improving the quality of the national education system. However, teachers are currently working in both the public and private sectors.

Teachers working in the public sector are currently regulated by the Law on Public Employees. Teachers in the non-public sector are also considered a profession under the law. The representative suggested that the Law on Teachers, which regulates these two groups, should incorporate issues from the Law on Public Employees related to teachers into the law's content for consistency. The representative also requested clarification on issues related to teachers' benefits in both sectors, such as salaries, bonuses, retirement age, and social insurance benefits. Furthermore, some specialized terminology in the draft law needs to be explained and clarified to ensure its effectiveness in practice.

National Assembly representative Thach Phuoc Binh from Tra Vinh province delivers his remarks. Photo: Doan Tan/TTXVN

While acknowledging that enacting a separate law is appropriate, National Assembly representative Thach Phuoc Binh (Tra Vinh) suggested the need to standardize the concept of teacher recruitment; clearly define the state management agency for education; and develop a system of policies for teachers in special and disadvantaged areas. He also noted that the salary system for teachers has not yet been clearly defined.

Many delegates affirmed that the Law on Teachers is a law of great interest to the National Assembly and society as a whole. One of the important reasons for enacting the Law on Teachers is to honor and respect teachers and ensure the best possible conditions for their profession, in accordance with their role and mission, contributing to improving the quality of national education.

Agreeing with the opinion that the teaching profession should be honored, delegate Thai Van Thanh (Nghe An) affirmed that the Draft Law on Teachers has many new points such as: The legal status of teachers in non-public schools is clearly established, and the rights and responsibilities of foreign teachers are clearly defined, thereby creating a secure environment for working, contributing, and innovating for the teaching staff in non-public schools.

This representative argued that the draft law has established professional standards for teachers and teacher standards to improve the quality of teachers. Teacher standards act as a "mirror," helping each teacher to "self-reflect, self-correct," and continuously improve their professional skills and expertise. They also serve as a tool for educational management agencies and educational institutions to develop plans, implement training, professional development, appointments, rotations, evaluations, and selections of teachers. Furthermore, the standards for teacher positions and teacher standards are tools for quality control.

Representative Thai Van Thanh proposed clearly defining the resources for implementing policies for teachers, such as salaries, allowances, incentives, and preferential treatment, specifying how these resources will come from the central government and local authorities, in order to ensure the law is feasible, effective, and put into practice as soon as possible.

The delegates all agreed that the draft law also stipulates many new policies regarding the recruitment and employment of teachers, creating favorable conditions for local education management agencies and educational institutions to proactively develop plans, strategies, training, professional development, deployment, transfer, evaluation, and selection of teachers; and to provide training and commissioned teacher development services…

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