Solving the problem of teacher shortage: What is the breakthrough?

On the eve of the new school year and in the context of implementing the two-level local government model, it is necessary to soon find the "key" to overcome this situation.

Urgent recruitment

According to statistics from the Dak Lak Department of Education and Training, the entire province lacks nearly 700 teachers. Ms. Le Thi Thanh Xuan - Director of the Department of Education and Training said that the province is directing localities to urgently recruit additional teachers to ensure teaching and learning in the new school year.

In addition, the Dak Lak provincial Department of Education continues to recommend that the province pay attention to and direct the removal of obstacles in mechanisms; promptly assign additional staff, in order to ensure minimum conditions for stable teaching and learning right from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

In recent years, despite efforts to invest in education, Nghe An province still lacks nearly 5,000 teachers for the 2025-2026 school year and the following years. Mr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training said that the shortage of teachers in the locality is mainly due to the requirement to organize teaching 2 sessions/day at primary and secondary schools.

At the same time, the number of classes increased in high school, continuing education and vocational education, leading to great pressure on teacher staffing. Faced with a shortage of teachers for the new school year, many schools sent documents to the Department of Education and Training requesting timely addition of teachers to ensure teaching arrangements.

Compared to the 2024-2025 school year, Ho Chi Minh City has more than 2.5 million students from preschool to high school, an increase of more than 39,600 students. The number of teachers at all levels is up to more than 110,000 people. In the 2025-2026 school year, the city needs to recruit nearly 5,000 more teachers from preschool to high school.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, by the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the country will have nearly 1.28 million teachers from preschool to high school, an increase of nearly 22,000 compared to the previous school year. The Ministry of Education and Training has coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs to propose adding more than 10,300 positions to overcome the shortage of teachers, especially in difficult areas. Localities have actively recruited the assigned positions, contributing to overcoming the shortage of quantity and inadequacies in staff structure.

Solving the problem of local surplus and shortage

At the training conference on implementing education management according to two-level local government organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City said that, in addition to facing a shortage of teachers, many localities are facing difficulties in recruitment.

In Ho Chi Minh City, 19 out of 168 wards, communes, and special zones have only one secondary school. Some wards and communes do not have a secondary school. Based on reality, Mr. Hieu believes that it is unreasonable to completely assign the appointment and recruitment to the commune level.

He also proposed reducing the registration time for teacher recruitment from 30 days to 10-15 days in time for the new school year. This year, Ho Chi Minh City continues to innovate in teacher recruitment by promoting decentralization and empowering recruitment. Thereby, aiming to improve the quality of the teaching staff.

To solve the problem of local teacher surplus and shortage, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet - Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Tinh said that the department advised the Provincial People's Committee to use the policy of secondment instead of rotation. The Department of Education and Training coordinated with the Department of Home Affairs to advise the Provincial People's Committee to agree to assign the Education sector to directly recruit teachers. The Department of Education and Training is reviewing to carry out this task.

"Regarding the mobilization and appointment of school leaders within the scope of two communes or more, we are waiting for specific instructions," Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet said.

In order to effectively recruit teachers, Mr. Tran The Cuong - Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that it is necessary to be more flexible in the requirements for pedagogical practice, instead of applying it rigidly. He proposed to expand the form of pedagogical practice, which can include contents such as preparing lesson plans and handling pedagogical situations so that localities can proactively choose the appropriate options according to the scale of recruitment and actual conditions.

Mr. Pham Tuan Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers (Ministry of Education and Training) said that from now until the Law on Teachers and its implementing documents take effect, the Ministry has provided specific instructions on a number of contents.

Accordingly, the recruitment, signing of contracts, mobilization, transfer and inter-school arrangement of teachers, staff and workers at public educational institutions will be decentralized and authorized by the provincial People's Committee to agencies and units to implement in accordance with actual conditions. The Ministry of Education and Training has directed that this task should be assigned to the Department of Education and Training, because the team of education civil servants at the commune level still needs to be improved to meet the requirements.

To solve the shortage of teachers before the new school year, Mr. Le Tuan Tu - a member of the 14th National Assembly suggested the following solutions: First, regulate and arrange teachers. Accordingly, educational institutions need to review and evaluate the personnel situation to transfer teachers from places with surplus to places with shortage, especially preschool and general education teachers. Inter-school and inter-level teaching can be applied to make the most of existing resources.

Second, recruiting and contracting teachers. Localities need to proactively recruit teachers on the payroll, and can sign short-term contracts with those with appropriate expertise to solve the local shortage of teachers, ensuring enough teachers in the classroom.

Third, improve the quality of the team. Accordingly, there is a need for training and development programs to improve the professional capacity of existing teachers to meet the requirements of the new education program.

Fourth, attract and retain teachers. Localities need to research and develop appropriate mechanisms and policies to attract teachers to work and stay in the industry for a long time.

Fifth, cooperate with units outside the school. For specific subjects, few teaching hours or lack of teachers, consider cooperating with centers, organizations, and individuals with expertise to organize teaching and learning activities.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/giai-bai-toan-thieu-giao-vien-cach-nao-dot-pha-post744038.html