Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – The Ministry of Education andTraining recently proposed raising teachers’ salaries, but it’s unclear whetherthis will be approved given the small portion of the State budget spent oneducation, according to experts.

In a draft proposal for the amendment of the Law onEducation, the education ministry suggested that teachers’ salaries should beincreased.

According to statistics from the ministry, currently, theaverage monthly income for a teacher with 15 to 25 years of experience rangesfrom 7.2 million VND (320 USD) for kindergarten teachers to 8.5 million VND (370USD) for university lecturers.

For new teachers who have worked less than five years, thefigure is only half of that at 3.2 million VND (142 USD) to 3.9 million VND (173USD).

Reform for teachers’ salary actually was discussed severalyears ago when a study announced in 2012 by Nguyen Thi Binh, former Vice President,and her team, revealed that 50 percent of teachers earn less than the educationfield’s average income which is between 3 and 3.5 million VND (140-164 USD) permonth, including allowances.

The salaries and allowances are not enough for teachers tosupport themselves and their families, especially those who live in urbanareas, the study concluded.

The study also found that on average, teachers worked 13years before making more than the average wage.

The study’s authors proposed that the Government adjust itspolicies so teachers can rely on their salaries to make ends meet and don’thave to wait too long for raises.

Nguyen Khac Thanh, principal of Dan Hoa Secondary School inThanh Oai district, Hanoi, said he supported the reforms.

“If the salary is increased, teachers will be able to focusbetter on their teaching quality and do not have to worry too much about how tomake ends meet,” Thanh said.

Tran Xuan Nhi, Chairman of Vietnam’s Association for Universitiesand Colleges, agreed.

“Teachers have to be able to cover their expenses by theirsalary to be devoted to teaching. I think teachers deserve to have the highestplace in the salary rankings,” he said.

Although the need to make such reform was mentioned in 2013’sResolution 29 on education and training reform, the situation was not made muchbetter, according to Dao Trong Thi, former head of the National Assembly’sCommittee on Culture, Education, Youth and Children.

Thi, however, admitted that such reforms would be challenging.

“The number of teachers in the country is large, if we raiseteachers’ salaries it means we have to cut the State budget for other fields.People are willing to say: yes, let’s raise teachers’ salaries, but I’m notsure if they would agree for their salaries to be cut to make up for theraise,” Thi said.

He also emphasised that support for teachers was critical toimprove education quality.

“If everyone in the society would think this through – theywould not hesitate to make the sacrifice,” he said.

Bui Thi An, former NA deputy from Hanoi, said the reformscould only be made when Government agencies are streamlined and workeffectively.

According to a report from the education ministry, Vietnamhas more than 1.2 million teachers, 272,000 education staff, and 154,000education managers.

However, Do Hong Cuong, Vice Principal of the HanoiUniversity, said salary would not be a fix all for the education sector.

“Other measures need to be conducted along with salaryreform, like improving education facilities,” he said.

The proposal by the education ministry also suggested thatmore students be exempt from public secondary school tuition fees.

“It’s not sufficient and does not make sense if Vietnam triesto universalise secondary education without providing free secondary educationto every child,” Dao Trong Thi said.-VNA