New challenges for the teaching profession.

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - The new school year has begun with many smiles from new students. Among them, many future teachers have the brightest smiles because they have successfully passed their exams with exceptionally high scores.

Getting into a teacher training college with such dream-like scores is a joy not only for the new students and their families, but also for the entire nation.

Attending and co-chairing the Conference summarizing the 2024-2025 school year and implementing tasks for 2025-2026, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that the country is facing many development demands. To realize these demands, a high-quality workforce is essential. This responsibility rests on the shoulders of the education sector.

However, the Prime Minister himself provided some unwelcome information: the entire country is currently short 102,097 teachers at the public preschool and primary/secondary levels, while approximately 60,000 allocated positions remain unfilled.

The shortage of teachers has many causes. Partly because not many students are enthusiastic about the teaching profession. It's also possible that the supply doesn't meet the required quality standards. In this general situation, Thanh Hoa is no exception. In its summary report for the 2024-2025 school year, the Department of Education and Training stated that the teacher workforce remains limited, with some teachers not yet meeting the requirements. This issue was also raised in the summary report of the previous school year.

Teaching is a noble profession, yet the remuneration for those in the classroom has historically been low. On the other hand, the rise of many economic and technological fields in recent years has created a strong attraction for talented students. For a long time, people used to say, "Only those with no other options choose to study teaching." Even with reforms in admissions and changes in teacher recruitment policies, the teaching profession still hasn't become truly attractive enough. Just about a decade ago, many teacher training programs had admission scores below 20 points per subject combination. Recent government incentives such as tuition waivers and living allowances for teacher training students have helped stimulate enrollment, but haven't yet created a real frenzy.

Recent admissions information for teacher training programs has been very positive. Last academic year, Hanoi University of Education 1 reported that 300 students who won national and international awards applied for admission. Another significant factor is the high admission scores for some teacher training programs at central universities, among the highest in the university admissions system. In Thanh Hoa, teacher training programs at Hong Duc University also had admission scores ranging from 25 to over 28.

This year, the frenzy surrounding entrance exam scores no longer focuses solely on technology-related fields like artificial intelligence and computer science, or international economics and foreign trade at universities like Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Foreign Trade University. Instead, teacher training programs are receiving the most attention. The entrance scores for English and Chinese language teacher training programs at the University of Foreign Languages ​​(Vietnam National University, Hanoi) and Hue University are both a perfect 30/30. The History and Geography teacher training program at the University of Education (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) also has scores close to 30. Meanwhile, the Chemistry teacher training program at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education and the History teacher training program at Hanoi University of Education are both above 29 points... This sends a positive signal about the future of education.

That's the theory, but in reality, unexpected things are constantly arising as artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly replaces human labor in many professions. AI teachers are not just a story of the future; many AI applications are already serving the teaching process. And the negative aspects of the education environment, which have persisted for many years, cannot be resolved overnight.

Education is taking us through a range of emotions. There's joy, but not necessarily no end to worry. Therefore, the education sector and teacher training colleges must both teach specialized subjects and focus on cultivating character, because teachers are not only transmitters of knowledge but also inspirers, igniting passion, motivation, and belief in students, teaching them how to be good people, and playing a crucial role in creating high-quality human resources to meet the requirements of the country's renewal process as outlined by the Prime Minister.

Passing this "gateway" is just as difficult as achieving scores of 29 or 30 to pass the entrance exam and become a new student in many teacher training programs.

Hanh Nhien

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhung-vu-mon-moi-cho-nghe-day-hoc-260139.htm