School staff confessions

In addition to the teachers who directly teach in the classroom, educational institutions also have a force that silently contributes to the cause of education: school staff.

At 35 years old and with 13 years of experience as a school librarian, Ms. Hoang Thu Huong (Bac Cuong Primary School, Lao Cai City) always tells herself that she must strive in her profession, even though her salary is currently her only source of income.

While busily arranging books and newspapers on the shelves, Ms. Huong hurriedly flipped through her notebook, checking for missing books. She confided: "My husband works as a security guard, earning about 5 million VND per month, plus my salary of 6.1 million VND per month. We have to be very frugal to make ends meet for our family with three young children. Two of the children have to be sent back to our grandparents' house in the countryside because our jobs require strict working hours. Sometimes we leave for work early in the morning and don't get home until late at night. Working at the library seems easy, but it's full of 'unnamed tasks'."

Previously, library staff simply held and lent books, but with the 2018 General Education Program, a weekly reading session has been added. Therefore, library staff must prepare a reading session for students, similar to a teacher's lesson. In addition, they introduce books during the weekly flag-raising ceremony and organize reading competitions in various formats to foster reading skills and a passion for books.

At the same school as Ms. Huong, Ms. Tran Thu Hang, a school health worker, has 16 years of experience. Besides her duties regarding the health of teachers and students, Ms. Hang also handles other tasks such as monitoring students' lunch meals, maintaining food samples, supervising the lunch program, and coordinating with the Bac Cuong Ward Health Station to monitor, report, and handle outbreaks of disease within the school.

“Assigned to supervise the delivery of food for the school lunch program, I have to be at the school by 6 a.m. Throughout the school day, I'm on duty, not daring to be negligent for a single moment because the school has thousands of students, and falls and illnesses happen frequently. I also take on other responsibilities as assigned by the school administration, especially during school events, where I participate in logistical support,” Ms. Hang recounted.

Currently, the school has four staff members working in the library, accounting, medical services, and administrative roles. Although they work in the education sector, eight hours a day, they do not receive the special benefits offered by the sector. Understanding this, the school administration has assigned these staff members the additional task of supervising boarding students four times a week to supplement their income. During school holidays and festivals, the staff also receive fair bonuses and incentives, just like the teachers.
Teacher Tran Thi Minh Chung, Principal of Bac Cuong Primary School.

Due to limited staffing quotas in each school, school staff positions are rarely filled through recruitment; instead, existing staff members often take on additional responsibilities. This results in school staff constantly having to shoulder numerous unnamed tasks, while their salaries and bonuses are significantly lower than those of teachers with the same years of service.

Like Ms. Ma Thi Huyen, a school nurse at Ham Rong Primary School (Sa Pa town), she not only performs medical duties but also takes on the roles of librarian, equipment manager, and administrative assistant. Living in Binh Minh ward (Lao Cai city), Ms. Huyen commutes 80 km by motorbike to and from school every day. “For 14 years, I’ve started work at 6 am and returned home at 6 pm every day, without any summer vacation like teachers. Many people think school nurses don’t work hard. In reality, every day, school nurses are overwhelmed with work for hundreds of students. Despite the heavy workload, we silently dedicate ourselves to our beloved students, but we still feel disheartened that after so many years of schooling, we’re grouped together in the same category as general laborers who don’t require professional qualifications,” Ms. Huyen expressed.

School staff are the "unsung heroes" who ensure the smooth operation of the school, managing the provision of teaching equipment, maintaining books and experimental learning materials, caring for health, and handling medical issues. Their workload is considerable, with many unnamed tasks, yet their salaries are modest. But because of their love for the school and their profession, they remain diligent in their work.

"We hope that school staff will receive attention from all levels, and be given additional preferential allowances to improve their family's living standards, so that they have more motivation to serve the education sector even better," shared teacher Tran Thi Thoa, Principal of Ham Rong Primary School.

Comment (0)