On removing foreign language and IT certificates from teacher standards

Teacher at Bac Ha Kindergarten (Ha Tinh City, Ha Tinh)

Regarding the reduction of foreign language and IT certificates in the recruitment, use and management of cadres, civil servants and public employees, at a regular press conference on the afternoon of March 19, Mr. Truong Hai Long, Director of the Department of Civil Servants and Public Employees (Ministry of Home Affairs) said that the Ministry of Education has recently issued 4 circulars on standards for preschool and general education teachers at all levels, which do not stipulate the need for foreign language and IT certificates.

During the drafting process of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Home Affairs promptly commented to amend the regulations requiring certificates in the professional title standards for teachers at all levels.

Removing foreign language and IT certificates from circulars on standards is correct.

Currently, in the regulations on standards for civil servants and public employees, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued Circular No. 18/2020/TT-BNNPTNT stipulating codes, professional title standards and salary scales for civil servants specializing in agricultural extension, forest management and protection, which also does not stipulate foreign language and information technology certificates.

In the field of civil servants and specialized management officials, the Ministry of Home Affairs has developed a revised circular on standards for administrative civil servants and specialized clerical civil servants, has sent it to ministries, branches, and localities for comments, and has completed its synthesis. It is in the process of appraisal and reporting to the Ministry's leaders for early promulgation.

"It must be affirmed that the policy of removing foreign language and IT certificates in circulars on standards is appropriate, is the right policy and creates consensus. When consulting with ministries, branches and localities, they highly support it. However, removing this regulation does not mean that foreign languages ​​and IT are no longer needed. This is a regulation on capacity. The Prime Minister has made a decision on the national foreign language training program, the foreign language training program for cadres, civil servants and public employees. Depending on the requirements of the job position, the agency that uses it in practice must still have it," said Mr. Truong Hai Long.

Mr. Truong Hai Long also affirmed that although he did not submit the certificate, in the process of organizing exams or using civil servants and public employees, there will be measures to organize exams or assessments to ensure qualifications and meet job requirements.

The authority to prescribe standards for civil servants and public employees has been assigned to ministries managing specialized civil servants and public employees.

With the responsibility of being an advisory body, helping the Government manage the staff of cadres and civil servants, the Ministry of Home Affairs will soon organize meetings, coordinate with specialized civil servant management ministries to propose similar amendments and supplements, ensuring consistency and fairness among civil servant and public employee ranks in general, reducing the burden of recruitment, use and management of cadres, civil servants and public employees.

According to Mr. Truong Hai Long, the Ministry of Home Affairs will also soon work with the Ministry of Information and Communications on the standards of civil servants and public employees.

Currently, the Ministry of Information and Communications is seeking opinions to amend regulations on the content, form of examination and promotion for editors and reporters.

According to previous regulations, reporters and editors had to pass exams to be promoted. Implementing new regulations of the Law on Cadres, Civil Servants and the revised Law on Public Employees, aiming to reduce cumbersome examination procedures, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed that the Ministry of Information and Communications add a form of promotion consideration for specialized civil servant ranks. The Ministry of Home Affairs will soon agree for the Ministry of Information and Communications to issue this circular.

Regarding whether to abolish certificates according to professional title standards or not, Mr. Truong Hai Long said that the Law on Civil Servants stipulates that civil servants appointed to a professional title must meet the standards of that professional title.

Training and development for civil servants can be carried out before appointment (training according to leadership and management positions) or when changing professional titles (training according to professional title standards) or training to supplement and update knowledge and professional skills (training according to job positions).

Implementing the Law on Civil Servants, Decree 18 before and Decree 101 after on training and fostering the team of cadres, civil servants and public employees has regulations on training certificates according to title standards.

However, the decree only provides general regulations, not specifying which professional titles or civil servant ranks require training certificates.

In the old circulars of the Ministry of Education and Training, there are some professional titles that previously did not require a professional title certificate, but the new circular stipulates that they must be studied, leading to inconsistent understanding, causing teachers to worry.

Ensuring connectivity and consistency in the legal system

For more information, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Duy Thang said that in 2019, the National Assembly amended the Law on Cadres, Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees, with many new points.

In the spirit of the new law, the Government issued two decrees on job positions for civil servants and public employees, clearly defining job descriptions, defining competency frameworks, etc.

The Decree also decentralizes authority to the specialized management ministry to specify job positions and descriptions, and determine competency frameworks.

“For teachers, the Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for this and of course must agree with the Ministry of Home Affairs,” said the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.

He requested that the departments of the Ministry, when drafting legal documents, including decrees and circulars, must include specific transitional provisions, what to apply from now on, how to apply it, how to handle the old people, etc. Because all the current reflections have problems due to the lack of transitional provisions.

Giving an example, “A senior specialist, unfortunately lacking a chief specialist certificate, forcing them to retake a chief specialist certificate is impractical,” Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Thang noted that there must be transitional regulations for those arising from the time the regulation was issued, not “retroactively”. Current documents lack many transitional regulations.

Reiterating the Prime Minister's directive to review all certificates to determine which certificates are used for appointment and promotion, which certificates are for professional training and updating knowledge; which are mandatory and which are encouraged, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs requested the Department of Civil Servants and Public Employees to review when revising the circular regulating administrative civil servants and archives.

Specialized civil servants of ministries such as tax, customs, treasury, banking, and inspection also conduct a comprehensive review. When drafting documents, try to review them in the spirit of comprehensive decentralization.

“The Government’s Decree 99/2012 (on the assignment and decentralization of the implementation of the rights, responsibilities and obligations of state owners of state-owned enterprises and state capital invested in enterprises) has decentralized very specifically and strongly. Once decentralized, the ministry in charge of the sector must take responsibility. As for the standards for teachers, the Ministry of Education and Training must take the lead and take responsibility, the Ministry of Home Affairs only participates to ensure general consistency,” the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs affirmed.

This leader also proposed amending Decree 101/2017/ND-CP (on training and fostering of cadres, civil servants and public employees) to ensure consistency with job positions and content requirements of Decree 106/2020/ND-CP of the Government (on job positions and number of employees in public service units) and Decree 62/2020/ND-CP (on job positions and public employee payroll), on the basis of the Law on Cadres, Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees amended in 2019 to ensure consistency and connectivity in the legal system.

"If we follow the old thinking of the 1993 career system, it is not in practice. Currently, we are mixing careers and job positions, not completely following job positions," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Thang.

According to VNA