What are the duties of teaching assistants at universities in Vietnam

What are the duties of teaching assistants at universities in Vietnam?

Under Article 2 of Circular 20/2020/TT-BGDDT, duties of teaching assistants at universities in Vietnam have the following duties:

- Duties of a teaching assistant

+ Participate in supporting lecturers with higher titles in teaching activities, including: Preparing lectures, tutoring, guiding exercises, discussions, experiments, practical work, and grading;

+ The assignment of assistant activities, duties, rights, and policies for participants in assistant activities is specified by the head of the higher education institution.

What are the duties of teaching assistants at universities in Vietnam (Image from the Internet)

What is the working time of a teaching assistant in Vietnam during probation?

According to Article 3 of Circular 20/2020/TT-BGDDT:

Work time, standard teaching hours, and teaching hour norms

1. The working time of a lecturer in an academic year is 44 weeks (equivalent to 1,760 administrative hours) to perform teaching, scientific research, community service, and other professional duties, determined according to the academic year after deducting the prescribed days off.

2. Standard teaching hour is the unit of time converted from the number of labor hours required to complete the specific workload of a lecturer's duties equivalent to one theoretical lecture period at the university level directly in class (or online teaching), including the necessary labor time before, during, and after the lecture.

3. Teaching time in the training plan is calculated by standard teaching hours, in which one theoretical lecture period at the university level directly in class (or online teaching) of 50 minutes is calculated as one standard teaching hour and is specifically stipulated in Clause 1 Article 6 of this Circular.

For special teaching contents, theoretical lectures at the university level directly in class (or online teaching) over 50 minutes are converted by the head of the higher education institution accordingly.

4. The standard teaching hour norm for lecturers in an academic year is prescribed from 200 to 350 standard teaching hours (equivalent to 600 to 1,050 administrative hours); in which, the direct standard teaching hours in class (or online) must ensure a minimum of 50% of the prescribed norm. The head of the higher education institution bases on the unit's objectives, development strategy; the peculiarities of the subject, major and specific conditions of the unit to decide the standard teaching hour norms of lecturers in an academic year accordingly.

5. Special cases

a) Lecturers during probation or trial period only perform a maximum of 50% of the standard teaching hour norms and are exempted from scientific research duties to spend time participating in class observation, assisting teaching, and participating in practice and real-world training.

b) Lecturers during leave with social insurance benefits or on leave according to the existing Labor Code regulations are exempted from the standard teaching hour norms corresponding to the leave period.

Thus, under the above regulations, a teaching assistant during probation in teaching is only required to perform a maximum of 50% of the standard teaching hour norms and is exempted from scientific research duties to spend time participating in class observation, assisting teaching, and participating in practice and real-world training.

What is the code of the professional title of teaching assistant in Vietnam?

According to Article 2 of Circular 40/2020/TT-BGDDT, the regulations on the codes and classification of professional titles are as follows:

Code and classification of professional titles

Professional titles for public teaching employees in public higher education institutions include:

1. Senior Lecturer (Grade I) - Code: V.07.01.01

2. Main Lecturer (Grade II) - Code: V.07.01.02

3. Lecturer (Grade III) - Code: V.07.01.03

4. Teaching Assistant (Grade III) - Code: V.07.01.23

Therefore, a teaching assistant is a professional title for public employees in public higher education institutions with the code V.07.01.23.

In addition, to become a teaching assistant, it is necessary to meet the standards as stipulated in Article 4 of Circular 40/2020/TT-BGDDT as follows:

- Standards on qualification:

Have a university degree or higher appropriate to the job position, and teaching major.

- Standards on professional competencies:

+ Master basic knowledge of the subject assigned to guide practice, experiments, and internships, and have general knowledge of several related subjects in the training major;

+ Understand and correctly implement the objectives, plans, content, and programs of the subjects assigned within the training major. Identify the reality and development trends of training and research of the specialty both domestically and internationally;

+ Effectively and safely use teaching aids and equipment;

+ Be able to apply information technology and use foreign languages in performing the duties of a teaching assistant (Grade III).