Hanoi (VNS/VNA) –With the new school year approaching, 43 cities and provinces across thecountry are facing a shortage of teachers.

According to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Education and Training(MOET), the cities and provinces still lack nearly 76,000 teachers, the NguoiLao Dong (Labourer) online newspaper reported.

The most serious shortage is seen at the kindergarten education level, whichlacks 40,000 teachers, said Nguyen Thi Nghia, Deputy Minister of Education andTraining.

Nghia said the shortage is seen in many localities, especially Dien Bien province andthe Mekong Delta region.

Statistics show that the central province of Ha Tinh alone is still in need of800 teachers and about 1,200 kids have been unable to enroll at publickindergartens this school year due to the serious shortage of teachers.

At the primary education level, the country lacks nearly 19,000 teachers.Meanwhile, there are shortage and surplus of teachers at various secondary andhigh schools.

The high schools lack more than 3,000 teachers. At the secondary level, thereis a surplus of about 12,000 teachers in certain districts and subjects, whilein other districts and subjects there is a shortage of 10,000 teachers.

Explaining the surplus and shortage of teachers, especially preschool teachers,the deputy minister said that as the population had increased, the number ofteachers also increased, but not fast enough to accommodate the growing numberof students, especially in urban areas and industrial and processing zones.

In recent years, the provincial-level education sectors had not been able tohire more permanent staff, as the entire Government sought to streamlinepayrolls.

Limitations in provinces’ planning and forecasting also led to the simultaneousshortages and surpluses of teachers, she said.

"The ministry alone cannot deal with this situation because the enrolmentand management of educational staff numbers is authorised by the People’sCommittee at all levels and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA),” Nghia said.

She said the ministry had requested the localities continuously review thelocal school systems to make appropriate arrangements in order to improve thecondition.

“We suggest localities move teachers from the areas with slight shortage to theareas with serious shortages to overcome the situation,” she said.

According to Nghia, the Government has assigned MOHA to coordinate with otherministries and sectors, including the MOET to adjust staff numbers in line withthe increase in population.

In order to meet the demand of teachers for the new school year, MOET alsoasked the Government to allow provinces which lack teachers to enroll morestaff with short-term contracts, said Nghia.-VNS/VNA