Careful consideration is needed.

MORE SURPRISED THAN JOYFUL

A teacher working in Mu Cang Chai District ( Yen Bai Province ) said she received this information with more surprise than joy. Teachers' lives are still difficult, but their children have long been cared for and educated in better conditions compared to the general standard. "Working in a disadvantaged area, we realize that the group most in need of support regarding tuition fees and scholarships are the children of farmers and ethnic minorities… otherwise, they will drop out of school."

Teachers at Minh Chuan Primary and Secondary School (Yen Bai province) return to school to teach students after the floods caused by Typhoon Yagi . Many teachers believe that the children of farmers and ethnic minorities are the ones most in need of support regarding tuition fees and scholarships.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The state budget needs to allocate an additional 9,212.1 billion VND.

The draft Law on Teachers, published before October 8th, does not include any policy of waiving tuition fees for the children of teachers. According to calculations by the Ministry of Education and Training, if a policy of waiving tuition fees (from preschool to university) for the children of teachers and lecturers were added, the state budget would have to allocate an additional 9,212.1 billion VND annually.

A teacher in Ho Chi Minh City also shared publicly on social media: "I am a teacher, and among my colleagues nationwide, no child has had to drop out of school because their parents are poor, but many students have to drop out due to poverty. Thank you to the Ministry for your concern, but I respectfully decline. Let the children of teachers be treated as normal children like those in other professions."

"Even though I'm a teacher with 39 years of experience, I really don't understand why the drafting committee would propose this. Free tuition for teachers' children! Where is the fairness? Children of farmers, workers... are much more disadvantaged than teachers' children!", commented a reader named NKM under Thanh Nien Newspaper's article about this proposal.

WHAT TEACHERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IS NOT GETTING THEIR CHILDREN FREE OF CHARGE.

Ms. VTH, a secondary school literature teacher in Bac Giang City (Bac Giang province), also shared with the reporter: "I understand that the Ministry of Education and Training wants to give special attention to teachers so that they can dedicate themselves to their profession with peace of mind. However, because of this proposal, we teachers have received many unpleasant comments in the past few days, such as 'privileges, special benefits,' or 'teachers receive too many advantages,' and some even mock the teaching profession, comparing it to other professions, like: 'Why not just exempt the children of teachers from tuition fees so they don't have to pay, and their parents can teach them at home'..."

According to this teacher, she and her colleagues have never proposed waiving tuition fees for their children because the tuition fees at public schools are not a major issue. What they need is a living wage, and special allowances for teachers, such as seniority allowances, will not be abolished when the new salary policy is implemented. Teachers also need to reduce unnecessary pressure from competitions, formal movements, and bureaucratic paperwork…

A principal of a private school in Hanoi said that his school has long had a policy of waiving 50% of tuition fees for the children of its staff, teachers, and employees, regardless of their position. This helps encourage them to stay committed and contribute to the school. Of course, tuition fees at private schools are quite high compared to public schools, so the tuition waiver is also very significant for employees, helping them feel the practical care and support they receive.

FAIRNESS AND FEASIBILITY NEED TO BE CONSIDERED

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper, Professor Dao Trong Thi, former Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, said that, in some respects, the Ministry of Education and Training's proposal should be considered an effort to motivate and encourage teachers. This means that any additional policy shows that teachers and the teaching profession are valued.

However, Professor Dao Trong Thi also believes that applying this on a nationwide scale with such a large budget requires careful consideration of its feasibility and whether it will receive consensus.

Professor Thi, who was a staunch advocate for teachers to have the highest salaries during the 2019 Education Law, believes that the important thing is that teachers' salaries are sufficient to live on, allowing them to feel secure and committed to the profession. However, even with the highest salaries in the salary scale, they are not significantly higher than other professions if the professional allowance policy is discontinued. The crucial point is to maintain the seniority allowance for teachers as it has been for a long time, because this allowance is included in social insurance contributions, and thus teachers will receive a higher pension upon retirement.

Regarding tuition fees, Professor Dao Trong Thi also believes that addressing the issue on a sector-by-sector basis would be very difficult and that a general policy is necessary, which is to move towards universal education, making tuition free for all citizens.

It is important that teachers' salaries are sufficient to live on so that they can feel secure and committed to the profession.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Sharing the same view, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hai, Principal of Phan Chu Trinh Secondary School (Hanoi), supports this proposal as an encouragement and motivation for teachers, but also emphasizes the need for thorough research and careful consideration on how to implement it appropriately, without causing budget imbalances and ensuring social equity.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Pham Van Hoa, a National Assembly representative from Dong Thap province, expressed his disagreement with the proposal to waive tuition fees for the biological and legally adopted children of teachers. According to Representative Pham Van Hoa, teachers' salaries are currently the highest in the administrative and public service salary scale. Teachers also receive more professional allowances than other civil servants. If they work far from home, teachers are even provided with official housing. Representative Hoa stated that increasing salaries, even very high increases, for teachers is correct, but nothing should be free, including tuition fees, for teachers' children.

"We cannot transform one injustice into another. In any society, every profession deserves equal respect and priority," Representative Hoa said, adding that the drafting agency's proposal would easily be perceived by the public as being driven by "group interests" for their own sector.

Associate Professor Nguyen Duc Loc, Director of the Institute for Social Life Research, stated his view: From a professional perspective, teaching is a relatively unique profession, and society does not oppose policies that are specific to teachers. However, when developing and enacting laws, a comprehensive view is needed, along with feasibility, a longer-term vision, and greater sustainability, avoiding the inclusion of too many small, temporary policies. "For example, looking at it holistically, teachers do not face too many difficulties compared to other professions. We should avoid creating a distorted view of teachers in society and comparing one profession to another," Mr. Loc said.

Associate Professor Loc also believes that increasing welfare benefits for teachers is necessary, but it should be included in their salaries and special allowances for the profession. "When drafting laws, we should prioritize universality, fairness, and diversity in approach," Professor Loc stated.

Reasons why it should not be applied

Mr. Ha Dinh Quan, an official working in Duc Trong District (Lam Dong Province), sent his opinion to Thanh Nien Newspaper, arguing that this proposal should not be implemented for the following reasons: Firstly, teachers' salaries have already increased. In addition, they may receive one or more allowances: seniority allowance, regional allowance, professional incentive allowance, position allowance, seniority allowance exceeding the standard rate, etc. This does not include income from other sources such as tutoring. Thus, teachers' income is not low compared to the average income of workers in other professions. Furthermore, teachers' income is highly stable and tends to increase over time.

Secondly, current tuition fees are not a barrier to access to education for the children of teachers. Thirdly, implementing this policy could cause serious problems such as inequality and unfairness among workers in different professions, and negative attitudes among workers in society. Fourthly, the cost of implementing this proposal is quite high. In the current context, this is not a crucial objective and should not be prioritized.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-xuat-mien-hoc-phi-cho-con-nha-giao-can-can-nhac-ky-luong-185241009221743053.htm