The government plans to increase the base salary by 8%, raising it from 2,34 million dong to 2,527 million dong. This adjustment, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra on 9/3, is set to take effect from 1/7/2026. Consequently, teacher salaries are projected to increase, potentially reaching a maximum of 17,13 million dong per month for preschool and general education teachers, not including allowances.

The base salary serves as the foundation for calculating the remuneration of cadres, civil servants, public employees (including teachers), and armed forces personnel. The salary calculation formula is: Salary = base salary x coefficient, excluding allowances.

With the new base salary, teachers are expected to receive between 5,31 million dong and 17,13 million dong per month, up from the current range of 4,91 million dong to 15,87 million dong. The highest increase will be nearly 1,3 million dong, with common increases ranging from 0,5 million dong to 1 million dong. These figures do not account for various allowances.

Projected teacher salaries for preschool and general education from 1/7/2026 are detailed as follows:

Teachers at Do Muoi High School, Hanoi, 2/2026. *Photo: Hoang Giang*

Vietnam currently has approximately 1,05 million preschool and general education teachers whose salaries are funded by the state budget. According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the salaries of most teachers are lower than those of public employees in many other sectors.

Specifically, public employees in salary bands A1 to A3 (ranging from lowest to highest: A1 - A2.2 - A2.1 - A3) earn between 5,48 million dong and 18,7 million dong per month. In contrast, 88% of the 1,2 million educators are placed in salary bands A0 to A2, corresponding to 4,9 million dong to 15,9 million dong. This group includes teachers at the preschool and general education levels (from grade one to 12).

The remaining group comprises university lecturers and vocational education teachers (intermediate and college levels), who receive salaries comparable to other public employees. Among them, about 14,000 individuals are in the highest A3 rank.

According to the Ministry, this highest-earning group represents only 1,17% of all educators nationwide. However, in many other sectors such as healthcare, construction, transport, science and technology, culture and sports, and information and communication, approximately 10% of personnel enjoy the highest salary coefficients.

The aforementioned salary levels do not include allowances, as most sectors currently have several types of specific allowances.

To address this disparity, the Ministry of Education and Training is proposing additional specific coefficients to ensure teacher salaries are among the highest, as stipulated by the Law on Teachers. The proposal suggests a specific coefficient of 1,25 for preschool teachers and 1,15 for primary and junior secondary teachers. If approved, teacher salaries could exceed 20 million dong, with potential increases of over 5 million dong.

Projected teacher salaries from 1/7 if specific coefficients are approved:

Thanh Hang