Thousands of Dak Lak teachers have not been paid for overtime teaching hours.

GD&TĐ - Over the past three years, thousands of overtime teaching hours by teachers at many schools in Dak Lak are still on paper awaiting payment.

Meanwhile, teachers continue to "work overtime" so that students' learning programs are not interrupted.

Waiting for overtime pay

A teacher at Nguyen Duc Canh Primary School said that for nearly three years, she has continuously taught hundreds of hours beyond the quota due to a lack of teachers, but has only been paid a small portion.

According to this teacher, due to the lack of teachers in the school, teachers have to take turns teaching extra subjects to ensure that students have enough hours as required. “We still have to complete our teaching tasks, even though we have been owed money for extra teaching for many years, which has discouraged many people,” she added.

Not only at Nguyen Duc Canh Primary School, a similar situation occurred at Vo Thi Sau Primary School (Buon Ma Thuot Ward) when dozens of teachers were also owed money for extra teaching hours for the past two years. A teacher here said: "Since being assigned to teach extra hours, we have always been ready for the benefit of the students. But for the past two years, the extra money has not been paid. Although each extra teaching period is not large, it adds up over many years to a significant amount. Many people are waiting to receive it to make ends meet."

It is a similar situation at Pham Hong Thai Secondary School (Buon Ma Thuot Ward) where dozens of teachers have been waiting for overtime pay for the past 3 years. “When there was a shortage of teachers, we were assigned to teach more than the quota but no one complained or refused. Now that we have completed the paperwork with more than 300 teaching periods but have not been paid, we feel sad,” Ms. LMN said sadly.

Funding source unknown

According to Ms. Kieu Thi Anh - Principal of Nguyen Duc Canh Primary School, in the two school years 2022 - 2023 and 2023 - 2024, the school still owes 3,524 extra teaching hours to teachers, equivalent to more than 482 million VND. In the school year 2024 - 2025, there will be 3,047 more teaching hours, equivalent to nearly 678 million VND.

“Up to now, the total number of unpaid extra teaching hours of teachers is more than 6,500, equivalent to nearly 1.2 billion VND. This is a very large number, exceeding the school's ability to balance regular expenses,” Ms. Anh said, adding: Nguyen Duc Canh Primary School has sent many reports to the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot Ward and related agencies, and at the same time requested the Department of Education and Training to consider allocating funds, but so far there has been no response.

Meanwhile, the Principal of Vo Thi Sau Primary School - Ms. Dang Thi Hai Yen, also shared that the debt for extra teaching hours has been going on for many years. When she took up her position at the school in April 2025, she also proactively gathered information and made a report to the authorities.

According to statistics, in the 2023-2024 school year, the school still owes 2,328 extra hours to teachers, equivalent to more than 430 million VND. In the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year, the school owes an additional 616 hours, equivalent to 151 million VND. "To date, the school still owes nearly 2,944 hours, with an amount of about 582 million VND," Ms. Yen informed.

Speaking more about this, Ms. Yen said that in the meeting at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, many schools in Buon Ma Thuot ward reported a similar situation, with the total amount of unpaid overtime teaching estimated at more than 20 billion VND. "The schools all hope to be considered and supported with funding soon to ensure the rights and stabilize the lives of teachers," Ms. Yen added.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vu - Chairman of the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot Ward ( Dak Lak ), said that this is a new issue he has just learned when taking up his position at Buon Ma Thuot Ward. In the meeting at the beginning of the 2025 - 2026 school year, the school principals reflected.

“The ward has directed the professional department to specifically review each school, compile reports and send them to competent authorities for consideration and resolution. For now, schools are required to compile detailed statistics on the number of outstanding lessons, clarify the causes and propose appropriate solutions,” said Mr. Vu.

Regarding this issue, Vice Chairman of Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thien Van has just signed a document directing the Department of Education and Training and localities to urgently review and implement to ensure the rights of teachers.

According to Circular 21 dated September 23, 2025 of the Ministry of Education and Training , teachers in public educational institutions are only allowed to teach a maximum of 200 extra periods per school year to avoid overload and ensure rest time according to the Labor Code. Teachers who teach extra hours are entitled to 150% of the salary of a standard teaching period, applicable to all levels and public educational institutions.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/hang-nghin-giao-vien-dak-lak-chua-duoc-thanh-toan-tiet-day-thua-gio-post752948.html