Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra announced on 9/3 that the government plans to increase the base salary by 8%, raising it from the current 2,34 million VND to approximately 2,527 million VND per month.

This new base salary applies to civil servants and public employees. Teachers are expected to receive between 5,31 million and 17,13 million VND per month, depending on their grade, an increase of 0,5 million to nearly 1,3 million VND compared to current rates. Teachers also receive various allowances.

Contract teachers and staff in schools are not public employees. However, if they are recruited under the government's Decree 111/2022 (contracts for administrative agencies and public service units), they will be eligible for the new salary. This information comes from a representative of the Department of Teachers and Educational Administrators, Ministry of Education and Training.

According to the latest statistics, Vietnam has over 1,03 million preschool and general education teachers whose salaries are paid from the state budget. The group of contract teachers numbers about 50.000 individuals.

Teachers at Hung Loi Primary School, Lam Thanh commune, Nghe An province. Photo: Duc Hung

A leader from a preschool in Cua Lo ward, Nghe An, stated that their unit employs two cooks and two administrative staff under Decree 111 contracts. These contracts were previously signed by the former Cua Lo town, entitling them to salaries and benefits similar to public employees. If they continue their employment, they will receive the new base salary.

The Department of Personnel Organization, Nghe An Department of Education and Training, confirmed this. For cases contracted under Decree 111, if funding is provided, they will be eligible for the new base salary.

The remaining group of contract teachers, those directly employed by schools, will not receive an increase based on the new base salary.

Nguyen Huu Ha, Chairman of Lam Thanh commune, Nghe An, explained that these individuals will not have the new base salary applied. Instead, they work under labor contracts, with wages dependent on the financial capacity and regular expenditure savings of the employing unit.

However, the Ministry stated that agreed-upon wages must not be lower than the regional minimum wage. Currently, the regional minimum wage ranges from 3,7 million to 5,31 million VND, depending on the area. The Ministry did not disclose the number of teachers in this group. However, Vietnam currently faces a shortage of about 120.000 teachers across all levels, leading many localities to allow schools to sign contracts to address this shortfall.

Duc Hung - Duong Tam