The most important issue the Ministry of Education and Training will focus on enhancing this year is human resources, with teachers and students the core objects, said Minister Pham Vu Luan in an online Q&A session with the public held yesterday via the government online portal.
Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan. Photo: Tuoi Tre
During the session, a 12th-grade student demanded that the current textbooks and teaching methodology be amended in a way that will allow students to be exposed to more photos, video clips, and real stories and situations for practice.
“Please do not force us to study from the text-condensed books, and solve the non-realistic and incomprehensive math problems.”
Appreciating the student’s suggestion, Luan said that when the ministry begins to reform the high school textbooks and curriculums in 2015, ideas and suggestions from students will be listened to and considered.
Bonuses, allowances for teachers: a hot issue
The minister also received a number of questions concerning the policies targeting the teachers.
Nguyen Thi Nguyet, of the northern province of Ha Giang, said that despite the incentive policies, teachers in the mountainous areas still fail to obtain a decent life with their wages. Teachers in some areas have never been granted any bonuses on Tet, she said.
“So what can be done in this case to keep teachers from quitting their job?” she asked.
Meanwhile, an education management official in Binh Dinh Province said he has been in the post for 20 years, and is likely to receive no allowances upon his coming retirement.
Many teachers questioned why few teachers have actually received money from
“Even in Hanoi, many teachers have no idea when they will get the allowances, and how much they will be worth,” they said.
According to a joint circular issued by several ministries, teachers who have been teaching for five years or more will receive a monthly seniority allowance as of February 20.
They include the education, internal affairs, finance, and labor ministries.
Commenting on this, minister Luan admitted that the policy cannot be implemented quickly since there are as many as four ministries to develop it, while the content is related to too many different sectors.
As for the hardship of teachers in the remote and mountainous areas, Luan said the government is developing a new salary policy, in which they are set to receive more incentives.
Loose quality checks on universities
The Q&A session also saw many concerns over the numerous newly-established universities, while the education ministry proves to be incapable of fully controlling and providing checkups on their quality.
Minister Luan admitted that the ministry’s checkups and auditing tasks have not been satisfactorily conducted.
By the end of 2011, the ministry had suspended four universities, and hundreds of courses from other schools, from enrollment, Luan said. “We are auditing the quality in 80 other universities.”
However Tran Duc Thu, from Da Nang City, remains skeptical about further sanctions following the detection of universities with poor quality.
“The ministry has audited the universities, but how about its point of view on how to penalize these violators?” he asked.
In response, Luan said the ministry will at first provide a warning, caution, and also support the schools to improve their situation.
“Stricter sanctions will be imposed on universities guilty of more severe violations.”
Source: TUOI TRE
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