The report on the reception and explanation of opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee (NA) and the preliminary examination of the NA committees on the draft law on teachers said that regarding policies for teachers, the draft law has been carefully reviewed to ensure both breakthroughs and suitability with the context of salary reform implementation in the coming time.

Increase budget expenditure by more than 20,000 billion VND/YEAR

In the draft, the Government proposes many regulations on salary and allowance policies as well as support policies for teachers, i.e. those who teach and educate in educational institutions in the national education system, from preschool to university. Accordingly, the draft stipulates that the basic salary according to the teacher salary scale is ranked highest; teachers ranked in the first salary scale will be increased by one level in the administrative career salary scale system. At the same time, teachers' preferential allowances will be increased by 10% for preschool level and by 5% for primary level.

Regarding support policies, the draft proposes to exempt tuition fees for biological children and legally adopted children of teachers who are currently working. At the same time, preschool teachers or teachers in schools for the disabled can retire 5 years early and will not have their pension rate deducted due to early retirement. With the proposed policies, the Government also said that if implemented, it will increase budget costs by about more than 20,000 billion VND per year. Of which, with the policy of exempting tuition fees for children of teachers from preschool to university, the state budget must annually pay an additional 9,212.1 billion VND.

Should tuition be exempted for teachers' children?

Speaking at the meeting, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh said that the proposal to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children from kindergarten to university is humane, but this policy can only be applied in public schools, not in non-public schools. Even in public schools, it is "sensitive". "Special regimes are acceptable, but privileges and benefits should not be given", Mr. Dinh stated his opinion. Similarly, with the proposal to allow preschool teachers to retire 5 years early and not have their pension rate deducted due to early retirement, Mr. Dinh was concerned that it would create a conflict with the Social Insurance Law recently passed by the National Assembly. He said that other policies could be studied to support this group of people, but this issue should not be stipulated in the law. Chairman of the Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung suggested that the Government's proposal should be explained more fully and make convincing arguments. Mr. Tung cited the draft law proposing to retain many allowances for teachers, while Resolution No. 27 of the Central Committee on reforming salary policy requires reviewing and arranging allowance regimes. Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man also said that exempting tuition fees for children of teachers while working can only be applied in public schools, and is very difficult to apply to private facilities. Therefore, he suggested that the drafting agency consider carefully. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the conditions to ensure salary policies, allowances and support policies for teachers. The Chairman of the National Assembly cited that according to the Government's report, the tuition exemption policy for teachers' children alone requires VND9,200 billion each year. "Where is this source, where does it come from so that we can allocate annual expenditures? We must evaluate more carefully to ensure feasibility, as well as fairness in relation to other priority subjects," the Chairman of the National Assembly stated. Emphasizing that this is a difficult bill with a large scope of impact and many complicated contents, the Chairman of the National Assembly requested that agencies be cautious and thorough.