The highest monthly salary received by a teacher is nearly 30 million VND.

Because the basic salary increased by 30% from July 1 without cutting allowances, teachers receive a salary of about 6.6 to nearly 30 million VND/month, an increase of 1.5-7 million VND compared to before.

Specifically, preschool teachers from grade III receive an average of nearly 6.6-28.2 million VND/month; from primary to high school, grade III and above, the average actual salary is 7.4-30 million VND/month.

Particularly, 44,000 grade IV teachers (graduated from college or intermediate school), who have not been upgraded according to the new regulations, receive salaries from about 5.9 to 17.5 million VND/month (an increase of 1.35-4 million VND).

Some localities also have their own preferential policies, notably Ho Chi Minh City, which applies a salary coefficient increase of 1.8 times for civil servants and public employees, including teachers. An official from the city's Department of Education and Training said that if this amount is added, the highest salary a teacher can achieve is 40 million VND/month.

The above figures include basic salary multiplied by coefficient, plus allowances.

In which, the teaching rank currently consists of three ranks in descending order: I, II, III. Each rank corresponds to 8-10 salary levels (salary coefficients), usually increasing by one rank every three years of work.

Regarding allowances, teachers receive a number of additional amounts, depending on the nature and location of work, including: seniority (5% after 5 years of work, 1% more each year), career incentives (30-70%), position allowance, seniority exceeding the framework, special allowances for teachers who are artisans, teach the disabled, work in particularly difficult areas...

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, the whole country has more than 1.05 million teachers receiving salaries from the state budget.

Mr. Nguyen Cong (32 years old, Hoai Duc District Secondary School, Hanoi) is a grade III, level 3 teacher, with a salary coefficient of 3.0. Including a 5% seniority allowance and a 30% incentive allowance, he receives nearly 9.5 million VND/month, an increase of about 1.5 million VND. His wife, a civil servant, also received a similar increase, helping the family to pay for the education of their two children.

"The best part is that I still get seniority allowance. This year, I have been on the payroll for 5 years and I just got it," Mr. Cong said excitedly. "Before that, I heard that after the salary reform, this allowance would no longer exist."

Ms. Doan Ngoc (27 years old, primary school teacher in Phu Ninh district, Phu Tho) received her first income of "early 6" even though she is still a grade III teacher, salary coefficient 2.34. The new salary after deducting insurance is about 6.4 million VND/month.

"Although it's still low, I'm happy because my salary has increased," said Ms. Ngoc.

At the preschool level, Ms. Ha Thu (30 years old, Ninh Giang district, Hai Duong) has 8 years of experience, receiving about 8.4 million VND/month after deducting insurance. This amount includes seniority allowance, incentives and group leader position allowance, an increase of about 1.5 million VND. According to her, the new salary is "a decent amount" for a rural teacher, helping her feel secure in her work.

On October 11, Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers, said the new salary policy has contributed to improving teachers' lives.

"But compared to the wishes and needs of teachers, there is still a gap," he commented.

According to Professor Nguyen Loc, former Vice President of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, teachers' salaries vary greatly from country to country. This level can be lower than GDP per capita in Slovakia, New Zealand, etc.; approximately the same in most countries such as the US and Switzerland; or higher in Germany (about 1.5 times), Malaysia and Thailand (about 1.2 times).

In particular, in Korea and Japan, teachers' salaries are nearly double the GDP per capita, according to a 2020 report by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The OECD's calculation is to take the highest teacher salary in a year and divide it by the GDP per capita. At that time, this coefficient in Vietnam was 1.5.

"There is currently no overall data on teacher salaries compared to other industries and professions, so it is impossible to say whether they are high or low. However, OECD data can be a basis for considering salary increases," he suggested. In addition, experts believe that it is necessary to consider the salary fund, compare with groups, and most importantly, calculate the actual workload of teachers.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quy Thanh, Principal of the University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said that increasing the basic salary "is a valuable thing". However, it is necessary to take into account the overall income problem so that teachers can ensure their lives.

"This certainly requires more solutions, besides increasing the base salary," he said.

Currently, the salary scale divides teachers into levels, grades I, II, III. Mr. Thanh proposed that there should be only one salary scale divided into career development levels: newly graduated, proficient, highly skilled, expert. In which, the starting level must be good enough for teachers at all levels, for example, coefficient 3.0. The increase for the first three increases should be larger, then it can be slowed down, because the group with difficulties is mostly young teachers.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training show that newly-trained preschool and primary school teachers (grade III, level 1) only receive 6.6 to 7.4 million VND per month, including allowances. This level is lower than the average income of workers nationwide in the first 6 months of this year (7.5 million VND).

According to Mr. Vu Minh Duc, about 61% of teachers who quit their jobs are under the age of 35 - a group of young teachers who often face pressure to support themselves and their families and have to study to improve their expertise.

In addition, according to Ms. Thu, a preschool teacher in Hai Duong, although the salary has increased, the salary calculation is not fair. She said that she and her colleagues have to receive children from 6:30 a.m., taking care of them and teaching them at the same time. In addition to preparing lesson plans, preschool teachers also make their own toys, visual aids for teaching, and many other unnamed tasks. Although the time to drop off the children is 4:30 p.m., they usually don't get home until 6-7 p.m.

"The work of a preschool teacher is considered special and difficult. Yet we are placed on a separate salary scale with lower levels than our colleagues in the same rank and grade at other levels of education," said Ms. Thu.

Currently, the starting salary coefficient for preschool teachers (requiring college graduation) is 2.1, while that for general education teachers (requiring university degree or higher) is 2.34.

The draft Law on Teachers, chaired by the Ministry of Education and Training, will be discussed at the next session of the National Assembly, which opens on October 21. The drafting committee said the bill includes five important policies: identification of teachers; standards and titles of teachers; recruitment, use and working regime of teachers; training, fostering, treatment and honoring of teachers; and state management of teachers.

In which, the teacher ranks at the secondary level are no longer divided into I, II, II but are teacher, main teacher, senior teacher.

Regarding remuneration, the draft proposes that teachers' salary policies, including salaries and allowances, are given the highest priority in the administrative salary scale. Newly recruited teachers will receive a salary increase of one level compared to the regular salary scale, and preferential allowances for preschool teachers will be increased by 10% and primary school teachers by 5%. The total additional budget for these two groups is VND12,800 billion per year.

In addition, the draft proposes to exempt tuition fees for teachers' children (both biological and legally adopted) from kindergarten to university, with a budget of about VND9,200 billion per year; and to arrange public housing for teachers working far away...

"We want to come up with better policies, at an appropriate level, to continue improving teachers' lives, helping them feel secure in their profession, and attracting more talented people to the profession," said Mr. Vu Minh Duc.