LookAtVietnam – Nursery school teachers now have to work too hard with up to 12 working hours per day, says a survey.

The teachers dare not neglect their classes since they are responsible for any problems with the kids. Such hard working instructors receive low salaries for work with a high level of responsibility and a demanding work load.

Pham Thi Bo, Head of the Van Canh Education Sub-Department in Binh Dinh Province, discussed how in the mountainous area it takes some teachers nearly a whole day to walk back and forth from their homes to school. Sometimes they must go to students’ homes to bring them to class.

Bo calculated that, on average, teachers work 11 hours per day, not including preparation time to make teaching aids and to develop syllabi.

He went on to explain that the majority of teachers do not receive extra pay for working additional hours. Current laws stipulate that teachers receive pay for “eight teaching hours,” not “eight working hours.”

One Nghe An Education and Training Department representative remarked that stipulating that nursery school teachers must teach eight hours a day is unreasonable. “Teaching” means giving lessons in class, but nursery school teachers must complete many other tasks.

Education specialists believe that it is necessary to reduce required teaching hours for nursery school teachers to 5-6 hours per day. Another option would be to stipulate that the required eight working hours includes feeding and taking care of the children.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia acknowledged that many nursery school teachers have to work 11-12 hours per day and admitted that the required eight teaching hours is very high.

Nghia has promised to discuss with the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Ministry of Finance how to adjust the current regulations to benefit teachers across Vietnam.

Hong Hanh