This morning, within the framework of the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly , the draft Law on Teachers was presented to the National Assembly for initial consideration. A notable new point in this draft Law on Teachers is the content regarding the recruitment of teachers.
Accordingly, the authority to recruit public school teachers rests with the education management agency or is delegated to educational institutions. In autonomous educational institutions, the principal is responsible for recruitment. In non-public educational institutions, recruitment is overseen by the school itself, in accordance with its organizational and operational regulations.
Overlapping authority in teacher recruitment and placement. (Illustrative image)
Overlapping recruitment and placement of teachers.
In reality, at the local level, Mr. Vu A Bang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Bien province, acknowledged that state management of teachers still has limitations and shortcomings.
The management of teachers is governed by numerous laws (Civil Servant Law, Public Employee Law, Education Law, Vocational Education Law, Labor Law, etc.), leading to difficulties in implementation and organization at the grassroots level. These documents also lack clear definitions of what constitutes a teacher, who is considered a teacher, the scope of regulation, and the subjects of regulation.
"The management of personnel quotas is overlapping between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education is allocated the total personnel quota, while the authority to recruit rests with the Ministry of Interior," Mr. Bang observed.
According to current regulations, the Department of Education and Training manages high school teachers and students in the province, while other levels of education are managed by the district-level Department of Education and Training. Therefore, the education sector is in a position where it lacks control over the allocation, deployment, and utilization (recruitment, secondment, etc.) of teaching staff, especially secondary, primary, and preschool teachers, to fulfill annual tasks across different localities in the province.
He gave an example: Kindergarten A in District B is short of teachers in the 2024-2025 school year, but the education sector cannot transfer or rotate kindergarten teachers from District C to reinforce the school, due to the management authority and policies of the District C Department of Education and Training and the District People's Committee.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also pointed out that the downsizing of personnel in many places has not been linked to targets regarding population growth, the number of schools and classes, but rather has been carried out mechanically. Many educational institutions in remote, disadvantaged, and particularly difficult areas do not meet the teacher-to-class ratio as prescribed. Currently, Dien Bien still lacks 2,008 teachers, including 980 kindergarten teachers, 533 primary school teachers, 233 secondary school teachers, and 262 high school teachers.
Given the aforementioned shortcomings, the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Bien province agreed with the proposal to consider decentralizing the management of teachers and education management staff to ensure uniformity in recruitment, employment, and management of teachers from the central to local levels. This includes assigning authority to the Department of Education and Training to manage teachers at the provincial level, restructuring the organization, and increasing the number of state management personnel for district-level Departments of Education and Training; if necessary, the nationwide allocation of teachers would fall under the authority of the Ministry of Education and Training.
"Consider not implementing the reduction in the number of salaried employees funded by the state budget as stipulated in Resolution No. 39-NQ/TW for provinces where people's lives are still difficult and there is no capacity to establish private schools, such as Dien Bien province," he emphasized.
Experts and National Assembly representatives agree on the proposal to delegate the authority to recruit teachers to the Ministry of Education. (Illustrative image)
Untangling the knots in teacher recruitment.
Deputy Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa, also stated that delegating recruitment authority to the Ministry of Education and Training would help it proactively develop strategies, projects, and plans for the development and overall staffing of teachers under its management. This would allow for a comprehensive understanding of the workforce, forecasting needs, and balancing the stages of enrollment, training, and recruitment appropriately; and enabling timely and effective teacher allocation.
"If this policy is passed in the Law on Teachers, it could address the localized shortage and surplus of teachers that has been occurring in practice over the past period. At the same time, it would contribute to the development of a teaching force that is sufficient in quantity, meets quality standards, and is balanced in structure," said delegate Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa.
Agreeing with the proposal to give the education sector autonomy in teacher recruitment, National Assembly representative Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, argued that for effective recruitment, regulations on content, form, and specific requirements and standards are needed. These criteria should ensure suitability to the specific professional characteristics of teachers, minimize administrative and official duties, and strengthen requirements and assessments of pedagogical competence.
Regarding recruitment authority, recruitment is delegated to educational institutions if they meet the requirements. If they do not meet the requirements, the educational management agency directly managing the educational institution will carry out the recruitment.
When teachers are appointed to administrative positions, the opinion of their direct supervisory agency is required. In addition, consideration should be given to retaining certain policies for teachers appointed to educational management positions.
"The draft Law on Teachers is the basis for enhancing the position and role of teachers, creating motivation for them to work with peace of mind and make many contributions to the cause of educating people. The draft has initially created an atmosphere of excitement for more than 1.6 million teachers; it has received the consensus and support of parents and the people," Mr. Thai Van Thanh assessed.
The draft Law on Teachers was proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2022. The ministry outlined five main policy groups: defining, standards, regulations, rights and obligations of teachers; recruiting, employing, and managing teachers; planning, training, and professional development for teachers; rewarding and honoring teachers; and state management of teachers.
The Law on Teachers is expected to be discussed and passed in two sessions (session 8 and 9 of the 15th National Assembly).
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/chong-cheo-trong-tuyen-dung-and-phan-bo-giao-vien-thao-go-the-nao-ar906316.html
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