Science - Education

Teachers anxiously await bonuses on the eve of Tet

University (according to VnExpress) January 24, 2025 7:20

Two days before the Tet holiday, many teachers still do not know whether they will receive their bonuses according to Decree 73 or not, while the payment deadline is before January 31.

giao-vien-thap-thom-cho-thuong-tet.jpg
Teachers guide students through 10th grade exam procedures in Hanoi, June 2022

"We are very eager, but so far there has been no information," said Ms. Lien, a literature teacher at a high school in Phu Xuyen. "As civil servants, many teachers in Hanoi have not received the bonus, which is a great loss."

Decree 73 stipulates salary levels and bonus regimes for civil servants, public employees and military personnel, issued by the Government at the end of June 2024. Bonuses are calculated based on outstanding achievements and results of annual task completion assessment and classification. The bonus fund is equal to 10% of the total salary fund (excluding allowances), and must be paid before January 31 of the following year.

To date, many schools in Hanoi and other localities have paid out. Schools often divide rewards into three levels: completed, well completed and excellently completed tasks, commonly ranging from 4 to 7 million VND per person.

However, as of January 22 (December 23), thousands of teachers have not yet received their awards. These teachers belong to two groups. One is the group of 119 high schools classified as "regularly autonomous", under the management of the Department of Education and Training. The second group is many schools from kindergarten to junior high school selected for the pilot "ordering educational services", under the management of 30 districts.

Ms. Lien belongs to group 1. The teacher with nearly 20 years of experience said that at this time, her wish is to know whether she will get a bonus or not, and if so, before or after Tet.

"Teachers just ask each other and then feel sorry for themselves," Ms. Lien expressed.

As part of the pilot group for ordering educational services, Van Tao Primary School in Thuong Tin District has encountered other difficulties. According to Principal Pham Quang Luc, the bonus was deposited in the school’s account nearly a month ago, but instructions for payment have not yet been given.

"We are looking forward to receiving instructions as soon as possible," said Mr. Luc. "We have not received any bonuses yet, so we are quite sad."

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhu Y, Head of the District Education and Training Department, this is not within the authority of the Department, so it must wait for feedback from the professional agency.

Also in this group, schools in Nam Tu Liem district and Ba Vi district have been instructed and paid, according to two heads of the Department of Education and Training.

Late last month, more than 600 teachers wrote a letter to the authorities asking them to review the bonus payments under Decree 73. According to them, the reason that schools are not allowed to pay this amount because they are "autonomous" is not satisfactory.

Normally, autonomous units have revenue to ensure their own operations, depending on the level. However, high schools classified as "autonomous in regular expenditure" in Hanoi are actually still guaranteed funding by the state. They are "assigned the task" of collecting tuition fees, which are then deducted by superiors when allocating the budget. The school is not allowed to use revenue from tuition fees to pay teachers' salaries or operate activities like autonomous units in other areas.

Assessing that this is just a change in the form of budget allocation, at the end of September and December 2024, Phuc Tho and Ba Vi districts sent documents requesting the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Finance to consider and ensure the rights of teachers.

In early January, a representative of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that they recognized this as an inadequacy. Therefore, the Department coordinated with the Department of Finance to propose that the City People's Committee consider and handle the matter to avoid teachers being disadvantaged.

On January 10, the Department said it would continue to submit a document to the City People's Committee, requesting to draft a resolution on updating the cost of implementing the bonus regime according to Decree 73, then submit it to the City People's Council for approval because the authority to issue resolutions belongs to this agency.

However, according to the schedule on the City People's Council portal, the most recent session will take place in November 2024 and there is no schedule for the next session. Meanwhile, the Lunar New Year holiday begins on January 25 and lasts until February 2.

The principal of a suburban high school said he shared the procedures with higher-level agencies. However, he hoped for clear feedback on whether teachers would receive the money or not, and if so, whether they would receive it before or after Tet.

"I faced many questions from teachers, but did not know how to answer," he said.

For the first time, civil servants and public employees were rewarded according to Decree 73, but the payment for teachers arose with problems and disagreements among localities.

Before Hanoi, 1,800 teachers in Tra On district, Vinh Long province, almost lost their bonuses because the Department of Internal Affairs said that the Decree took effect from July 1, but the evaluation and classification of teachers took place in May. However, teachers in high schools and other districts still received money. After petitioning their superiors, the Department of Finance agreed to pay the bonuses.

In Ca Mau and Dak Lak, teachers are worried because of procedural problems between authorities. They only received this amount yesterday.

University (according to VnExpress)
(0) Comments
Latest News
Teachers anxiously await bonuses on the eve of Tet