VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi People's Committee has approved a plan allowing 26,000 teachers working under short-term contracts in public pre-schools across the city to receive increased compensation and benefits, retroactively affective to the beginning of 2011.

A teacher conducts a class at Dinh Cong Pre-School in Hoang Mai District of Ha Noi. The municipal authorities will increase benefits for pre-school teachers. (Photo: VNS)

"The approved plan is part of an effort to encourage pre-school teachers to apply to public pre-schools instead of private pre-schools. The lack of quality teachers in public pre-schools is one of the problems concerning the city leaders", said Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, vice chair of the Ha Noi People's Committee.

"We recently posted recruiting advertisements for pre-school teachers for 10 consecutive days but received no responses," said Dam Quoc Khanh, vice chairman of the Hoang Mai District People's Committee.

Cao Thi Bich Lan, vice chair of the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, said that more than 10 teachers had moved from public pre-schools to private pre-schools last year.

"Teachers could earn a higher salary working at private pre-schools," Lan said.

"After graduating, I applied to a private pre-school rather than a public one because I was offered a salary of VND2 million (US$100) per month, in addition to free lunches and social and health insurance. Meanwhile, my colleagues who work at public pre-schools receive only about VND1 million ($50) a month with no such additional benefits," said 23- year-old pre-school teacher Dang Le Thuy in Hai Ba Trung District.

The city now faces a shortage of nearly 3,200 teachers in the public pre-school system, the municipal Education and Training Department reports.

The committee had decided to recruit more than 4,900 pre-school teachers this year to effectively operate a five-year project of universalising pre-school education for five-year-old children, said Hang.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News