Solutions to overcome the shortage of English teachers in mountainous areas

In the context of comprehensive innovation of general education according to the 2018 General Education Program, ensuring a quality teaching staff has become a prerequisite to improve teaching and learning effectiveness. However, the shortage of teachers, especially English teachers and some specialized subjects in mountainous areas is always a really "hot" issue at the beginning of each school year.

Three years ago, Lao Chai Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities did not have a permanent English teacher and had to use only seconded teachers. Entering the 2025-2026 school year, the school proactively proposed to have an English teacher to fully meet the program's tasks.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Huong Giang - Vice Principal of the school shared: "Due to the nature of Lao Chai commune, it is not merged with another administrative unit, so Lao Chai Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities cannot "bridge" with the school in the same locality but can only wait for the decision of the Department of Education and Training (DET) on contract or seconded teachers".

Not only Lao Chai Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, the shortage of English teachers is also common in many other mountainous communes and districts in the province, especially at primary and secondary levels.

Right from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, the Department of Education and Training of the province proactively advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Official Dispatch No. 1638/UBND-NC on teacher contracts, reinforcement, secondment and guest teaching. This is a temporary solution, but demonstrates the province's determination to ensure there are teachers in class, especially in difficult areas. The dispatch clearly states the motto "favorable communes and wards help disadvantaged communes and wards; favorable schools help disadvantaged schools". Commune-level People's Committees and heads of educational institutions are authorized to proactively coordinate and share teacher resources. Principals of schools with guest teachers must ensure the conditions according to standards and the profile of the guest teachers must comply with regulations.

Mr. Mac Trong Khang - Head of the Department of Organization and Personnel, Department of Education and Training of the province said: To meet the immediate requirements, the Department of Education and Training prioritizes assigning teachers to communes in the old district 30A (Tram Tau, Mu Cang Chai, Si Ma Cai, Bac Ha, Muong Khuong) and some communes in Van Chan district and Sa Pa town (old). In particular, communes in the old Yen Bai province (Tram Tau, Mu Cang Chai) must have teachers in class before September 5, 2025.

According to statistics, the total number of teachers expected to be contracted in the first phase for communes in Mu Cang Chai district (old) is 64 people, including 3 English teachers (2 primary school, 1 high school). Tram Tau district (old) is expected to contract 18 teachers, including 1 English teacher (primary school). These teachers will both teach and give guest lectures for other schools in the area.

Seconding teachers is a solution that has been successfully applied by Yen Bai province (old) to solve the shortage of English teachers at primary level when implementing the 2018 General Education Program. This solution is highly appreciated and has solved the shortage of English teachers in recent school years.

“In the case of seconding teachers, after the communes and wards have discussed and agreed on the list of seconded teachers, the list will be sent to the Department of Education and Training to synthesize and report to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and decision. In addition, the Department has proactively coordinated with pedagogical universities to widely propagate to ensure attracting recruitment sources.”

Mr. Mac Trong Khang - Head of Personnel Organization Department, Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province

Although the above solutions have contributed to solving the situation, there are still many challenges. The number of contracted and seconded English teachers is still limited compared to the actual demand. The quality of the teaching staff, especially guest teachers, needs to be strictly controlled. Moreover, these solutions are only temporary and have not solved the fundamental problem of attracting and retaining good teachers in the highlands.

To solve this problem in a sustainable way, more comprehensive and fundamental solutions are needed. That is, to improve the remuneration regime; to review and rearrange the school network to suit the actual conditions of each locality, such as merging small-scale schools with a small number of students to concentrate resources and improve the quality of education; in particular, to pay attention to training a team of local English teachers...

Currently, the English teacher training program organized in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University has enrolled 2 classes with 76 students, including those who have left prestigious universities in Vietnam to return to the province to participate in the English teacher training program. This will be quality human resources for schools in the coming years.

The lack of English teachers in the mountainous areas of Lao Cai is a problem that requires the attention and participation of the entire political system. With synchronous and fundamental solutions, we believe that the provincial education sector will overcome difficulties, ensure the learning rights of students and improve the quality of education in the mountainous areas.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/giai-phap-khac-phuc-thieu-giao-vien-tieng-anh-o-vung-cao-post881795.html