On 10/5, the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee announced it had instructed communes and wards to balance their tuition fee compensation funds for the current year to make these payments.

The affected group consists of 57 teachers and 147 staff members (including administrative and accounting personnel) who previously held labor contracts with the district level. However, since last October, Nghe An province transitioned to assigning direct staffing quotas to schools. This change meant contract teachers and staff were no longer eligible for salaries from the state budget. Many individuals faced difficulties, having to borrow money to cover living expenses.

Following a review, the Department of Education and Training reported that some schools provided advances of 3-4 million VND per month, but most contract teachers and staff have not received salaries for the past six months.

_Preschool teachers and students in Nghe An during a class. Photo: Duc Hung_

According to the department, the contract teachers and staff owed salaries are currently working in approximately 40 communes and wards. Cua Lo district has the largest outstanding amount, exceeding 2,8 billion VND. In the long term, the department proposed that localities submit requests to competent authorities for staffing quotas to continue signing contracts from July and proactively manage their own funds.

A secondary school teacher in Cua Lo ward expressed relief at the prospect of receiving her salary to live and repay her debts incurred during the difficult period, but she remains anxious about the future. She hopes that long-term contract teachers will be prioritized for official staff positions.

Nghe An currently has over 46,000 teachers and education staff, but faces a shortage of over 6,000 personnel in preschool and general education.

Duc Hung