Explaining the above proposal, Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers, Ministry of Education and Training, said that according to a survey, among the teachers who have quit their jobs recently, up to 61% are under 35 years old and one of the reasons leading to this situation is low income, not enough to cover living needs. Meanwhile, young people have many things to worry about such as supporting themselves, taking care of their children, and the need to study to improve their qualifications.

At the same time, the salary of teachers with less than 5 years of experience is currently very low. That is the reason why the Ministry of Education and Training proposed to raise the starting salary for teachers by 1 level, in order to encourage young people to enter the teaching profession. This is also part of realizing the goal of the highest salary for teachers in the salary scale.

Regarding the draft Law on Teachers adding the content of "increasing 1 salary level for teachers who are recruited and have their salary assigned for the first time", teacher Nguyen Thi Minh, principal of a secondary school in Hanoi, said that increasing one level for newly recruited people to make them feel secure in their profession is a humane thing to do.

However, this proposal faces reality. If this is done, it will benefit new teachers but be a disadvantage for those who have dedicated themselves to the industry for many years.

This principal believes that the current salary of teachers with less than 5 years of experience is very low, and if there is a budget source for this, it would be great. “Personally, I think the proposal is humane and reasonable. Teachers’ income may not increase too much, but it is part of the encouragement for teachers to enter the teaching profession and teachers can work with peace of mind,” Ms. Minh shared.

Ms. Huy Thi Linh, a teacher at a primary school in Hanoi, said that she agreed with the proposal to raise teachers' starting salaries by one level. This is a good thing to do so that students can have enough to cover their living expenses after graduation.

“In fact, teachers are very happy when their salaries increase. But not all teachers can become civil servants right away, so that teachers can work with peace of mind. Many of my colleagues are tired and bored with their jobs after 17 or even 22 years without being able to become civil servants, remaining as contract teachers,” Ms. Linh shared.

Teacher Nguyen Thi My Hanh (Hanoi) said that raising teachers' starting salaries by one level is a good thing to do because the current starting salaries of teachers are low. Young teachers graduating with salaries that are too low will easily quit their jobs and the education sector will not be able to retain dedicated and talented people.

Ms. Hanh said that when she first graduated, her teaching salary was only a few hundred thousand dong per month, not enough to cover expenses even in the countryside at that time. But her generation could endure hardships back then, but now that the cost of living is skyrocketing, if the salary is too low, young teachers will have difficulty staying in the profession.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thinh, Vice Principal of a secondary school in Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi, personally finds it unreasonable to use teachers with many years of experience.

Ms. Thinh believes that if the proposal is realized, it will cause unfairness and inequality for all teachers in the industry.

"Therefore, in my opinion, young teachers should start from the beginning, and offer higher salaries than other industries to retain them," Ms. Thinh shared.

It is known that the current vocational allowance for teachers is 25% for university lecturers and 35 - 70% for preschool and primary school teachers depending on the subject and working region.

In the Government's explanatory report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee at the 38th session, there was an assessment of the regulation that teachers recruited and assigned salaries for the first time are increased by 1 salary level in the administrative career salary scale system.

"According to local reports, as of last May, the number of teachers recruited in the 2023-2024 school year was 19,474. Of which, 5,592 were preschoolers, 7,737 were primary schoolers, 4,609 were junior high schoolers, and 1,536 were high schoolers.

If the policy of increasing the salary level by 1 level in the administrative career salary scale system is implemented, the State budget will need to supplement to pay teachers' salaries by about 22 billion VND/month, meaning the annual budget needs to supplement 264 billion VND," the report stated.

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