New joy and expectations of preschool teachers

Each person has different circumstances and a different path to pursue a teaching career, but for Ms. Bui Thi Nhung, a teacher at Thuong Quan Kindergarten (Kinh Mon), it is quite special.

After graduating from Hai Duong Pedagogical College, in 2009 she applied to An Sinh Secondary School (Kinh Mon) to teach. But at that time she only taught on contract basis and there was no social insurance. In 2010, she started a family and had children. During this period, she also worked in farming and animal husbandry, but her financial situation was still very difficult. Her meager and unstable salary of only about 800,000 - 1.2 million VND/month was not enough to cover her living expenses, so she had to hold back her tears and temporarily quit her job to work for a business with a decent salary of 8-10 million VND/month. But every time she passed a school and looked through the gate, she missed her students and her job terribly. Many times, coming home from work in her worker's uniform and with a dirty face, she thought she would no longer be able to pursue a teaching career.

However, her love for the profession still burned within her. In 2020, the province had a policy of recruiting civil servants in the education and training sector, with the greatest shortage of preschool teachers. Seeing that the door to the teaching profession was open again, Ms. Nhung applied to be a contract teacher at Thuong Quan Kindergarten. She was willing to leave her workplace with a salary of 10 million VND/month to go to a place with a salary of only 3-5 million VND just because of her dream of becoming a teacher. Although the family's economy was very difficult, her husband also worked for a company and the business lost money due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and she had 3 children, Ms. Nhung still persevered in her profession.

At school, she worked and studied preschool education. When she was qualified, she took the 2023 civil servant exam for education and training in Kinh Mon town. She was one of 11 people admitted to Thuong Quan Kindergarten with a fairly high score of 97 points.

“When I learned about the results of my admission, I cried with joy. At 36 years old, all the hard work, effort, and perseverance have paid off. When I learned that the Provincial People's Committee proposed a policy to support each preschool teacher with 1 million VND/month, I was even happier. I hope this policy will soon become a reality,” said Ms. Nhung.

Sharing the same situation as Ms. Nhung, Ms. Pham Thi Tuyet, a teacher at Hung Dao Kindergarten (Tu Ky) also had a rather bumpy journey to find a proper career. Graduated from Quy Nhon University's Pedagogy Department, in 2009 Ms. Tuyet started teaching at Quang Phuc Secondary School (Tu Ky). After 2 years as a contract teacher, with a salary that was not enough to live on, Ms. Tuyet also quit her job to work for a company to have enough money to cover her living expenses.

In 2013, Ms. Tuyet applied for a contract job at the People's Committee of Tai Son commune, but could not stay long. In 2021, seeing an opportunity to return to teaching, Ms. Tuyet applied for a contract job at Hung Dao Kindergarten. Although the job required leaving early, coming home late, and taking care of children was very tiring, with a total income of only over 4 million VND/month, she was still determined to stick with the job. During this time, she worked and studied extra to qualify for the civil servant exam.

At the 2023 recruitment of teachers and education staff in Tu Ky district, Ms. Tuyet was one of four people who were admitted to Hung Dao Kindergarten. “I am very happy to have achieved my wish at nearly 40 years old. The joy was doubled when I heard that the province was proposing to support preschool teachers with 1 million VND/month, which made me more confident and dedicated to the teaching profession,” Ms. Tuyet said.

The province’s recruitment of education officials in recent years has had a strong impact on those who love the profession and want to return to it after a period of leaving. However, recruitment is still very difficult, especially for preschool teachers. In 2023, the province’s admission rate will only reach about 60% of the recruitment target.

Recently, the People's Committee of Hai Duong province has proposed that managers and teachers of public preschools in Hai Duong be supported with 1 million VND/person/month for 24 months, starting from January 1, 2024. It is expected that a total of 8,980 managers and teachers will be supported with a total amount of more than 215 billion VND, from the provincial budget.

Hopefully, the policy to support managers and teachers of public preschools in Hai Duong will be approved by the Provincial People's Council in the upcoming session. This is also a fundamental solution, contributing to attracting and retaining preschool teachers in the context that many teachers cannot stay in the profession due to work pressure and inadequate income.