VietNamNet Bridge - Having to work 10 hours a day and bearing pressure, a preschool teacher can earn some VND3 million a month.

Nguyen Thuy Duong feeds a child

Nguyen Thuy Duong, a teacher at Kidsgarden Ha Dong in Hanoi, comes to the school at 6.30 am, when other people are still in bed. Soon after she arrives, she starts her working day and does work she has been doing for the last eight years.

She always begins a new working day by washing face cloths. Then she cleans and tidies up classrooms as a cleaner. The work must be finished before 7 am, when the school begins receiving children.

Duong has to take care of small children aged 12-24 months. She is busy all the time. After receiving children, Duong and two other colleagues have to feed them breakfast. The work is especially difficult if children are ill and they snivel.

Having to work 10 hours a day and bearing pressure, a preschool teacher can earn some VND3 million a month.

It takes Duong about one hour to feed children. But her efforts are in vain if children cough and vomit after they eat. If so, Duong will have to spend time to change clothes and clean children. Children always want teachers to hold them in arms. If teachers cannot do this, they will burst into crying. And Duong will have to play with the children to stop them crying.

Trinh Thi Dung, a teacher of the Dich Vong Hau Preschool, said being a preschool teacher was a hard job.

Dung and two other teachers have to take care of more than 50 children in the class. She is so busy that she cannot arrange time for her kid, a 4-year-old boy.

“My son has to get up very early and leave home together with me for the school. Meanwhile, we can only leave school late at 6 pm to go to market for food and prepare dinner,” she said.

How much do teachers earn for their hard work? According to Vu Thi Thu Hien, headmaster of Dich Vong Hau Preschool, the pay for preschool teachers is ‘very modest’.

“A newly graduated teacher can receive VND2 million a month. A teacher with 6-10 years’ experience will get no more than VND5 million, including allowance,” she said.

Duong of Kidsgarden said she receives VND4 million a month, which is not enough for her and two children to cover basic needs. Therefore, she has to work overtime to get some extra money. She takes care of children in non-working hours and works on Saturday as well.

Dung and her son lives in a rented room which is only large enough for a bed and a wardrobe. She has to save every dong to live and bring up the child.

Tien Phong