LookAtVietnam – Under current regulations, every primary school teacher holds 23 teaching sessions per week. Still, they must work 2-4 times harder now.

“Traveling 20 kilometres of heavy traffic from District 10 to District 9 and getting to class on time is my permanent worry,” Phi remarked.

She begins her first lesson of the day at 7am, finishing at 11am. Phi has no break for lunch or relaxation. Instead, while students have their lunch and take a nap, she carefully grades students’ papers.

Phi resumes class again at 2pm. She also teaches music, fine arts and handicrafts. Luckily this year she does not have to teach physical exercise, because a new teacher has been assigned the subject.

Her classes end at 4 pm. Rather than heading home, however, Phi cannot leave. She must stay late at the school to do other jobs and complete paperwork.

“I arrive home at 7pm, sometimes 8 or 9pm if I have meetings,” Phi explained.

Unfortunately, Phi only has some 30-40 minutes to play with her own children, because she has to prepare lesson plans and teaching materials every evening for the next morning.

Her “normal” day ends around midnight.

Other teachers do not have to worry about traffic jams, because their schools are located within the city, but they face other concerns.

At Doan Thi Diem Primary School in Tan Phu district, most classes have 55-56 students.

Teacher Le Thi Kim Hoa explained that crowded classes force teachers to expend more energy. “Some teachers get hoarse because they must speak loudly in their classes,” Hoa observed.

Besides teaching hours, instructors have many other duties. One teacher showed Tuoi Tre reporters the pile of documents she must fulfill daily, including lesson plans, teaching journals, and students’ records.

Bearing the heavy job pressures, teachers like Phi and Diem, who have 12-13 years of experience and university degrees, earn two million dong ($110) a month. Teachers with 6-7 years of experience receive 1.5-1.8 million dong a month.

Diem regrets that she always gets home late after her husband.

“My lessons start at 7 am, but I have to be present in class 15 minutes earlier to prepare for lessons. My son finishes school at 5 pm, but I can rarely pick him up from school,” she complained, adding that the hard work “gobbles up” a lot of her time.

VietNamNet/TT