Tran Dang Tuan had previously asked about the slow provision of meal support for kindergarten children in disadvantaged areas. This time, he raised concerns over the poor incentives and wages for the teachers in those areas.

Tuan pointed out that low compensation for the jobs would lead to dire consequences such as the case of two kindergartens in Thanh Hoa Province in September 2011, where 62 teachers decided to not take classes. The decision was made because after excluding all kinds of insurance, their actual take-home incomes totalled just VND500,000 per month (USD24).

After the incident, the Prime Minister issued Decision 60 in October 2011 which carried the promise of subsidising kindergarten children in disadvantaged areas for their lunches and promised to give teachers who don't have full contracts the same benefits as other teachers.

However, Tuan said, both of these promises were not realised as there has still yet to issue a circular to guide its implementation.

In a question and answer session in 2012, the Minister of Education and Training admitted that Vietnam still needed 22,800 more kindergarten teachers. The minister also said only 56.1% of the teachers had full time contracts so the average income of the kindergarten teachers remained very low, with some earning less than the minimum wage.

"I know that the ministry must consult with other agencies in order to issue the circular, but it has been too long," Tuan wrote.

Tuan asked the minister to urge relevant agencies to work more ethically; and if the guiding circular could not be done soon, the minister should propose to the government to change the decision-making process.

He said he would continue to exchange letters with the minister once every two weeks until Decision 60 was implemented.

dtnews