Ease the financial burden

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan - Principal of Phu Nham Primary School (Phu Ninh District, Phu Tho) expressed her support and said that the proposal for teachers to pay their own training costs to improve their qualifications and receive back tuition fees, if implemented, would be a suitable and practical incentive policy.

This will encourage teachers to work and participate in training courses to upgrade their qualifications to meet the requirements. I hope that the relevant departments and agencies will consider and consider ways to support teachers when they study to upgrade their professional qualifications.

Ms. Ngan explained that many teachers do not have high incomes, so it is difficult for them to pay a large sum of money for courses to upgrade their qualifications. The problem of transportation also affects teaching time and other family chores.

Similarly, Ms. Bui Thi Van - Principal of An Khanh B Kindergarten (Hoai Duc District, Hanoi) said that this proposal is suitable for reality. Because currently, teachers' salaries are still low compared to the general level.

“When participating in standard training courses, teachers are supported by the State with all or part of the cost, which also helps reduce financial pressure. Not being supported financially will cause many teachers to tend to look for other jobs with more stable income, causing a shortage of teachers in some localities as in the past,” Ms. Van cited.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet - English teacher, Chi Minh Secondary School (Chi Linh City, Hai Duong Province), sending teachers to study to improve their qualifications is necessary. Because most of the previous requirements only required graduating from college or intermediate school before being upgraded to university level, teachers need tuition support.

Ms. Nguyet believes that to solve this problem, there must be a synchronous solution from many sides. In particular, the budget for education needs to increase to ensure enough funding to support teachers to improve their qualifications. On the other hand, there must be a transparent, fair and accessible tuition support mechanism for all teachers.

In addition to centralized training, it is necessary to develop online and on-site training forms to meet the needs of teachers in different localities. Call on businesses to accompany the education sector and provide financial support for teacher training programs.

Need cooperation

With over 30 years of working in the education sector of Ha Nam province, Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Tuoi - Principal of Vinh Tru Town Secondary School (Ly Nhan District) said that for many years, teachers in the province who participated in the standard qualification upgrading course did not have to pay tuition fees but were paid by their superiors. This is a great advantage for teachers to feel secure in their work and focus on doing their professional tasks well.

If teachers have to pay for their own education, it will not only be a financial burden for them, but it will also raise many questions about fairness. Because teachers are the ones who directly impart knowledge to the younger generation and play an important role in the development of the country. Is it reasonable for them to pay for their own education to improve their professional skills?

“Supporting tuition fees for teachers to improve their qualifications is not only an economic issue but also a social one. This is a long-term investment and brings high efficiency to the country's development. Solving this problem requires the cooperation of many parties, including the active participation of the State, education management agencies, businesses and the whole society,” Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Tuoi added.

From an expert perspective, speaker Dao Ngoc Cuong from the Viet Potential Awakening Training Company (Hanoi) emphasized that continuous training of teachers to meet standards is a necessary step. Because currently there are many areas where teachers do not meet standards.

If teachers attend training as required by the unit to ensure standards, they should be supported with tuition fees on the condition that they have a commitment to study fully and ensure quality. Avoid the situation where teachers attend training just for the sake of it, while the quality is in limbo. Similarly, teachers teaching in non-public schools can depend on the unit's policies to have appropriate support.

With the aim of ensuring quality, updating new knowledge and necessary skills to serve the job, financial support should be provided to partly solve the difficulties of teachers. At the same time, it will encourage teachers to actively study, expand and cultivate more new knowledge and skills.

“Knowledge is changing every day, and job-serving skills are increasingly required to improve. When supported with training funding, more teachers will study more actively to meet the demands of society. In addition, teachers will also boldly choose quality training facilities to study instead of choosing places that save costs but may not guarantee quality,” said speaker Dao Ngoc Cuong.