Lack of teachers but many localities still waiting for instructions

Although the Ministry of Education and Training has repeatedly stated its direction and guidance on delegating the right to recruit and use teachers to the Department of Education and Training, it has been noted that up to this point, only a few provinces and cities have actually delegated the right to the Department of Education and Training, while the majority are still waiting for guidance on implementing the Law on Teachers.

LACK OF TEACHERS BUT NOT YET RECRUITING

This year's teacher recruitment is delayed compared to previous years and compared to the start of the new school year, especially for schools at the commune level. At the discussion on commune-level education management when implementing 2-level local government last August, Mr. Nguyen Tien Bac, Principal of Cao Phong Secondary School (Phu Tho), pointed out the reality: At this time every year, schools have completed teacher recruitment, but this year they still have to wait for instructions and direction while the school is lacking teachers. If the commune level is assigned to recruit, compared to the district level, which previously had both the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Internal Affairs, now the Department of Education and Culture at the commune level only has 1-2 officials in charge of education, not enough human resources to carry out teacher recruitment...

According to the leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training, the recruitment of teachers will be assigned to the Department of Education and Training to preside over implementation or advise the Provincial People's Committee to decentralize and delegate authority in accordance with local realities.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

This is also the common situation in localities. In Hanoi , the Department of Education and Training has only announced the recruitment of teachers for units under the department (high school level and above), commune-level facilities are still waiting for instructions from the City People's Committee on the basis of Government regulations. Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, said that the spirit is that no matter which level or sector is assigned to recruit teachers, the ultimate goal is still to recruit enough in quantity, ensure quality and fairness, publicity and transparency.

Recently, Mr. Trinh Dinh Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh , gave remarkable information when he said that the whole province is lacking about 4,000 teachers, but from 2021 to now, the Department of Education and Training has not organized any teacher recruitment. Instead, this locality must overcome the shortage of teachers according to Decree 111 of the Government, that is, sign contracts with teachers in the subjects that are lacking. However, this method has revealed shortcomings: contracts according to the calendar year do not coincide with a school year that spans over 2 years. In fact, contracts with teachers must be signed annually, and re-signed in December, causing difficulties for both teachers and schools.

SOME PLACES HAVE GIVEN RECRUITMENT RIGHTS TO DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Meanwhile, some localities have followed the circulars and guidance documents of the Ministry of Education and Training in the direction of assigning recruitment authority to the Department of Education and Training.

This school year, Nghe An lacks more than 4,000 teachers at all levels. In addition, there is a shortage - surplus of teachers in many localities. The transfer and rotation of teachers between communes is still difficult due to the uneven ratio of teachers between communes, and the small size of communes makes it difficult to rotate. The People's Committee of Nghe An province has issued a document assigning the responsibility of recruiting, receiving, mobilizing, seconding, and transferring teaching staff to the Department of Education and Training. At the same time, recruitment and reception within the assigned number of positions in the province in 2025 will be carried out to arrange for facilities lacking teachers, to be completed before November 30.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Tinh, said that the Department has coordinated with the Department of Home Affairs to consult with the Provincial People's Committee to agree to assign the Department of Education and Training to directly recruit teachers. The Department of Education and Training is currently reviewing to implement. The transfer and appointment of school leaders within the scope of 2 communes or more is awaiting specific instructions.

IMPLEMENTING THE LAW ON TEACHERS IN THE DIRECTION OF ASSIGNMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that immediately after the National Assembly passed the Law on Teachers, the Ministry proactively developed a system of documents guiding its implementation. In particular, for teacher recruitment, the direction is to assign the Department of Education and Training to preside over implementation, or advise the Provincial People's Committee to decentralize and authorize in accordance with local practices. "The above approach ensures the implementation of the policy of reducing intermediaries, synchronizing recruitment quality (one-time recruitment can be registered for admission to many schools based on exam results), saving costs, increasing opportunities for recruitment participants; at the same time, contributing to overcoming the situation of local surplus and shortage of teachers as well as ensuring the structure of staff according to grade levels, subjects, and educational activities," Minister Nguyen Kim Son acknowledged.

According to the leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training, previously the whole country had 705 district levels, which were 705 focal points for managing cadres and teachers from preschool, primary, and secondary schools. This is one of the reasons leading to local teacher shortages. Because the district level cannot manage teachers from one district to another. Therefore, now the recruitment and mobilization of teachers is assigned to the commune level, so the whole country has 3,321 focal points, the local teacher shortage will be more serious because it cannot transfer teachers from one commune to another. Not to mention, can the commune level develop exam questions and grade teacher recruitment exams in the current context?

It is expected that the recruitment of teachers under the new regulations, assigned to the education sector, will include 2 rounds of examinations. Of which, round 2 will be on professional expertise.

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers (Ministry of Education and Training), analyzed: instead of having 3,321 focal points, if it is brought to 34 focal points (34 Departments of Education and Training), it will be much more convenient. The Department of Education and Training also ensures professional capacity to recruit qualified teachers, close to the requirements. When brought to the Department of Education and Training focal points, it can be implemented in the direction that each candidate has many different wishes. When failing the first wish, they can be recruited for the second, third, or fourth wish... One exam but can meet many different needs. The Department of Education and Training also closely monitors the situation of surplus and shortage of teachers to develop a plan to recruit and coordinate teachers in the province.

Mr. Tran Van Thuc, National Assembly delegate of Thanh Hoa delegation, also proposed to unify the policy of decentralization and give autonomy to the education sector in recruiting and using teachers.

However, the Ministry of Education and Training recognizes that the shortage of teachers has many causes, including limited recruitment sources. In addition, the process of allocating and recruiting staff in many localities is slow and prolonged. To overcome this, the Ministry said it has implemented many solutions such as: directing training institutions to open major codes, train teachers according to the actual needs of localities, especially specific subjects; requiring localities to recruit enough staff; directing localities to review and arrange the network of schools; piloting the autonomy mechanism in some public preschools and general schools; promoting socialization...

Teacher recruitment exam will be strict in terms of expertise and professionalism.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that it is expected that the recruitment of teachers under the new regulations, assigned to the education sector, will include two rounds of examinations. Of which, the second round on expertise and profession will be designed differently, closely following the actual process of teaching and education activities, ensuring the correct assessment of pedagogical capacity and professional skills of candidates at each level of education and training. "This is expected to be an important innovation, aiming to overcome previous limitations when applying the general mechanism for civil servants without taking into account the specific characteristics of the teaching profession," the Minister said.

Director Vu Minh Duc also said that the first round of the teacher recruitment exam can be held nationwide (organized by the Ministry of Education and Training) or in clusters (organized by some departments of education and training). After passing the first round, in the second round, the departments of education and training can continue to organize with criteria suitable to the characteristics of the region and subject. "In the criteria for recruiting teachers, we will have to focus on pedagogical practice. It may be necessary to set criteria such as the ability to develop plans, organize education (teaching), test and evaluate students and solve pedagogical situations...", Mr. Duc said.

A leader of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that in order to effectively recruit teachers, it is necessary to be more flexible in the requirements for pedagogical practice, instead of applying a rigid approach. For localities with large educational scales such as Hanoi, organizing a teaching practice exam for thousands of candidates is very difficult to do, because it requires mobilizing a large number of examiners, and the marking work is difficult to ensure fairness and uniformity between the councils. Therefore, this person proposed to expand the form of pedagogical practice, which can include contents such as preparing lesson plans and handling pedagogical situations so that localities can proactively choose a plan suitable to the scale of recruitment and actual conditions.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thieu-giao-vien-nhung-nhieu-dia-phuong-van-cho-huong-dan-185250914174225415.htm