50% of school teachers regret career choice: report

About half of local school teachers regret choosing teaching as their career, a survey says.

About half of local school teachers regret choosing teaching as their career, a survey says.

An English class at Nguyen Van Troi Middle School in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City

Over 40 percent of the polled elementary school teachers said they would make a different career choice, said Dr Vu Trong Ry with the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, who conducted the survey on 526 teachers in five provinces and cities. The percentages for middle and high school teachers are 59 and 52.4, respectively.

Low income is to blame, survey results show, elaborating that teachers have to do side jobs, i.e. private tutoring and farming, or ask for help from family members to survive.

The scientist pointed out that a pedagogical school graduate can merely earn VND2 million (US$96) a month, only enough for meals for half a month, and many still rely on their parents for other expenses.

He then rejected conjecture that teaching is an easy job, and thus teachers should not complain about their low pay.

Dr Ry cited from his survey that elementary school teachers have to work 1.5 times more than the 40-hour weekly limit capped by the government, whereas middle and high school teachers often spend up to 70 hours a week on teaching and other related duties.

They have to try to meet high expectations and suffer serious pressure from parents, education management officials and society at the same time, the pundit said.

Dr Ry warned that teachers will not have the drive to continue teaching if salary remains a challenging issue.

They would simply try to fulfill their minimum responsibility without developing a love for their career, he said, cautioning that good students and useful citizens for the country will not be produced this way.

Teaching staff problems like this will never lead to a high-quality education as Vietnam expects, he concluded.