However, regarding the granting of practice certificates to teachers, there are still many concerns and worries about whether this certificate will cause inconvenience and expense for teachers and society.

The "advantages" of a practice certificate

One of the provisions stated in the draft Law on Teachers is the provision on the Certificate of Practice for Teachers. The Certificate of Practice for Teachers is a document confirming the qualifications of a teacher issued by a competent authority of Vietnam to a person who meets the standards for the title of teacher as prescribed. This certificate is valid nationwide and in other countries under international cooperation programs with Vietnam. Each teacher is granted 1 or more than 1 certificate of practice.

This is the first time that the identification of teachers associated with professional characteristics has been fully and systematically regulated, serving as a basis for standardizing and proposing regulations and policies for teachers.

According to Dr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers, Ministry of Education and Training, the basic practice certificate will have a positive impact on teachers and educational institutions. Specifically, the practice certificate facilitates teachers when there are changes in their place of professional activity. The practice certificate is valid nationwide, so no matter where teachers teach, they do not need to re-implement the probationary regime; it reduces procedures for teachers when: transferring and signing indefinite-term work contracts, fixed-term contracts, guest lecturers or inter-school teaching; when teachers transfer from a public educational institution to a non-public educational institution or vice versa; when teachers have retired but still participate in teaching according to the needs of the educational institution.

The practice certificate is valuable in ensuring uniformity in the quality of teaching and education among educational institutions; ensuring many requirements of international integration, facilitating the exchange of teachers between countries, especially the quality control of foreigners participating in educational activities in Vietnam.

The certificate of practice aims to enhance the status and role of teachers when teachers are distinguished from other professions, especially distinguishing between those who are qualified to teach and those who are not qualified to teach but claim to be "teachers", and this phenomenon is very popular, especially on social networks.

According to Dr. Vu Minh Duc, in order to avoid disruption when applying regulations on professional certificates, the draft Law on Teachers has calculated a favorable transition plan for 1.6 million teachers who were recruited into the industry before the Law took effect to be granted professional certificates without having to be assessed. Retired teachers who wish to be assessed will also be assessed to be granted professional certificates to recognize their contributions to the education cause or to continue their professional activities. In addition, foreign teachers who meet the conditions prescribed by competent authorities and have the need and pass the assessment will also be granted certificates.

Teacher Do Thi Bich Hoa, teacher at Thach Xa Primary School, Thach That District, said: “A professional certificate will create many advantages and protect the rights of teachers; it is also the easiest proof to know that someone is a teacher. With a professional certificate, the status of teachers will certainly be raised.”

With more than 30 years of experience in the education sector, Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Chairman of the Board of Nguyen Binh Khiem School (Hanoi) supports the granting of practice certificates to teachers because, according to him, to be recognized as a teacher, after studying pedagogy, it is necessary to continue training and development.

Still wondering why?

In addition to the consensus, there are still many concerns about the necessity and feasibility of professional certificates for teachers. Notably, these opinions come not only from people working outside the industry, but also from many people who have worked, are working and will work in the education sector or directly work as teachers.

The first concern is whether the teacher's practice certificate will incur administrative costs and procedures? There is currently no exact basis to answer this question, but according to the provisions of the draft, teachers recruited into public, private, and non-public educational institutions who meet teacher standards after the Law takes effect will have to undergo an examination and, if they meet the requirements, will be granted a practice certificate. An examination, of course, has an organizing unit, an examination paper, an examination council, and costs. Therefore, it is expected that procedures and costs will arise.

Regarding another aspect, teacher Dinh Thi Ha, residing in Thai Nguyen province, shared that her concern when it comes to the teacher's practice certificate is the time it takes. "The test is often theoretical or legal; moreover, there is a possibility that teachers will have to attend a training course before being tested. So how long does it take teachers to get the certificate?" - Ms. Ha said.

Expressing her opinion on this issue, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Linh, a teacher at Nguyen Trai High School, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, said that it is still necessary to consider thoroughly and carefully before deciding to grant a certificate of practice to teachers or it is possible to stipulate which subjects need to pass an examination to be granted a certificate of practice, such as: people who do not major in pedagogy but go to teach; foreigners teaching in Vietnam; retired teachers in need...; and university graduates in pedagogy must be granted a certificate without having to pass an examination.

Currently, the draft Law on Teachers is still in the stage of soliciting opinions from ministries, sectors and localities. Many ministries and sectors believe that this issue must be carefully considered because it can be costly and troublesome. For example, the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education believes that granting licenses to 1.6 million teachers is currently "very difficult". The Ministry of Home Affairs suggests considering the necessity, feasibility and assessing the specific impact of the regulation on granting practice certificates to teachers.

Meanwhile, the ministries of Industry and Trade, Construction, Culture, Sports and Tourism said that this license should not be issued because it is "complicated, unnecessary", and creates additional administrative procedures for teachers and management agencies. The ministries are also concerned that the new type of license is costly, difficult to recruit, has the risk of creating sub-licenses, and makes it difficult to attract and utilize talents... According to the plan, the draft Law on Teachers will be submitted to the National Assembly for comments at the October session.