Poorly paid kindergarten teachers are having to fork out on
teaching aids because schools lack the funds to properly equip classrooms.

A kindergarten teacher plays with children at No 1 Primary School in Hai Phong City’s Hong Bang District . Poorly paid kindergarten teachers are having to fork out for teaching aids because schools lack the necessary funds to properly equip classrooms. (Photo: VNS)

The
Ministry of Education and Training believes it is a teacher’s
job to make classroom props, said Pham Thi Binh, a teacher at Mam Xanh
Kindergarten in Dong Da District. However, she said she did not have the time to
spend making teaching aids, and that funds should be made available to buy
materials.

Binh
said her school day started at about 6.30am and officially ends at 6pm.

“Then I
make teaching materials in the evening – time I should be spending with my
family,” she said.

She said
she often has to ask her husband and her children for help so that she can get
the work done faster.

Depending on the subject, Binh said she makes paper flowers, animals and models
of houses, trains and airplanes.

She said
each year a teacher has to make dozens of classroom props, which are rarely
re-used.

However,
she said it was essential to use teaching aids in the classroom.

“Our
lessons will only be successful if we make them fun and interesting.”

The
Education
Ministry allocates just VND300,000 (US$15) per teacher per year
for teaching aids, she said, adding: “It should be at least VND600,000 ($30).”

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Hang, who teaches at the Sunrise Kindergarten in Thanh
Xuan District, said her husband was angry that she had to spend so much time on
school.

“My
husband isn’t at all happy when I have to spend my evenings making teaching aids
instead of taking care of our small daughter,” she said.

However,
Hang said it was not unreasonable to expect teachers to make their own props and
that every term kindergartens awarded prizes to the most creative teachers. But
she said teachers should not be expected to have to spend their own money on
materials.

“By
making teaching aids we demonstrate our love for the job and the children,” she
said.

She also
said that pupils preferred home-made props to those sold in shops.

Hoang
Hong Thuy, Lang Thuong Kindergarten’s principal, said she would gladly reimburse
teachers the cost of making classroom props if she had the money.

“We need
more support from the
Ministry of Education and Training,” she said.

In the
meantime, she advised teachers to only make simple inexpensive props.

“We need
simple and colourful toys which will save teachers time, money and energy,” she
said.

Pham
Ngoc Phuong, deputy director of the Department of School Materials and Equipment
at the
Ministry of Education and Training, said making handmade props
promoted creativity among teachers.

He added
that from next year the
ministry planned to spend VND700 billion (US$36.8 million) on
materials that teachers could use to make props.

The
following year, he said the
ministry would organise training courses for kindergarten
teachers.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News