VietNamNet Bridge – A workforce of highly qualified and committed teachers was indispensable for building quality kindergartens in HCM City, speakers said at a workshop held here on Wednesday.

Teachers at Kindergarten 4 in HCM City's District 3 play with pupils. Kindergarten teachers need to be of the highest calibre if schoolchildren are to fully benefit from preschooling, speakers at an education workshop heard. (Photo: VNS)

Preschool and kindergarten teachers played a vital role in the development of children. What they learn and experience during their early years will shape their views of themselves and the world and affect their later success or failure in schools, she explained.

It is necessary, therefore, for kindergarten teachers to have high professional knowledge and to love their job, Quynh said.

Other qualities that kindergarten teachers should have were enthusiasm, love for the children, creativity, and the willingness and ability to use knowledge sourced through the Internet to develop their professional knowledge as well as skills, she said.

A pre-school education expert said that the current teaching staff at kindergartens in Viet Nam were yet to develop the capacity to update their skills and engage in self-development.

Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, principal of the May 19 Kindergarten in District 1, suggested that more short-time training courses are provided for kindergarten teachers so that they improve their skills and knowledge on a regular basis.

Quynh said teachers at Vietnamese kindergartens lacked creative capacity because they were overburdened by work at most kindergartens.

Many stay at the kindergartens for ten hours per day, she said.

Speakers at the meeting also suggested that the working hours for teachers at kindergartens be reduced by half. And, to attract highly qualified teachers to kindergartens, it is very important to increase their remuneration, they said.

Vu Thi Xuan Lien, principal of the Vang Anh Kindergarten in District 5, said that the Department of Education and Training should allow kindergarten heads the autonomy to increase teachers' salaries.

Others spoke of the need to reduce classroom strength and to invest in better facilities for kindergartens.

However, Vu Thi Lien Hoan, said it was not necessary for high quality kindergartens to have many modern facilities.

"A kindergarten with enough teaching aids in classrooms and a friendly learning environment is very important," she said.

She also stressed the importance of ensuring that children from low-income families are able to attend high-quality kindergartens, and for both public and private sector to be involved in setting up these institutions.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News