Guidance on Determining the Source of Funding for Increased Statutory Pay Rate for Current Teachers in Vietnam

Guidance on Determining the Source of Funding for Increased Statutory Pay Rate for Current Teachers in Vietnam

On August 20, 2024, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 62/2024/TT-BTC guiding the determination of needs, sources, and methods of spending for implementing the statutory pay rate and bonus policies according to Decree 73/2024/ND-CP and adjusting monthly allowances for retired commune officials according to Decree 75/2024/ND-CP of the Government of Vietnam.

Article 3 of Circular 62/2024/TT-BTC stipulates as follows:

Determining the sources of funding for implementing the statutory pay rate and bonus policies according to Decree 73/2024/ND-CP and adjusting allowances for retired commune officials according to Decree 75/2024/ND-CP

b) For public service providers partially covering their own recurrent expenditures and public service providers whose recurrent expenditures are guaranteed by the state budget:

For revenue from fees (included in the list of fees as stipulated by the laws on fees and charges): Utilize at least 40% of the retained fee revenue following the policies after deducting the costs directly related to the service provision, fee collection (including the costs used for implementing the statutory pay rate of 1.8 million VND/month) as stipulated by the laws on fees and charges (direct collection costs should not be deducted if the state budget has already ensured the costs for collection activities).

For revenue from providing medical examination and treatment services, preventive medicine services, and other health services of public medical facilities: Utilize at least 35% of the retained revenue following the policies after deducting the costs included in the service price as stipulated by the laws on service prices (such as costs of medicine, blood, infusion fluid, chemicals, replacement materials, directly consumable materials serving patients; costs of electricity, water, fuel, waste treatment, environmental hygiene; maintenance and repair of equipment, replacement of tools, etc., and salary costs included in the service price).

For revenue from services (including tuition fees), joint venture activities, and other revenues: Utilize at least 40% of the revenue surplus over expenditures (after fulfilling obligations to the state as stipulated).

4. Public service providers ensuring their own investment and recurrent expenditures, and public service providers ensuring their own recurrent expenditures: Implement according to the regulations in Section 4, Article 5 of Decree 73/2024/ND-CP.

5. The central budget supports the financial needs for implementing the statutory pay rate and bonus policies for ministries, central agencies, and localities after balancing other sources of funds that do not meet the required demand, except for the units stipulated in Section 4 of this Article.

Clause 4, Article 5 of Decree 73/2024/ND-CP stipulates as follows:

Implementation Funding

...

4. June 21, 2021, of the Government of Vietnam stipulates the financial autonomy mechanism for public service providers and documents amending, supplementing, replacing Decree 60/2021/ND-CP (if any).

Sources of funding for increasing the statutory pay rate for current teachers:

- Units ensuring their own recurrent expenditures: self-ensure according to the regulations in Decree 60/2021/ND-CP.

- Units partially covering their own recurrent expenditures and units whose recurrent expenditures are guaranteed by the state budget: For revenue from services (including tuition fees), joint venture activities, and other revenues: utilize at least 40% of the revenue surplus over expenditures (after fulfilling obligations to the state as stipulated).

Guidance on Determining the Source of Funding for Increased Statutory Pay Rate for Current Teachers in Vietnam (Image from Internet)

Current Statutory Pay Rate for Teachers in Vietnam

Based on the regulations in Article 3 of Decree 73/2024/ND-CP, the statutory pay rate applied to teachers as public employees in public service providers is 2,340,000 VND/month.

The specific salary coefficients for teachers at different levels are stipulated in the following Circulars issued by the Ministry of Education and Training: Circular 01/2021/TT-BGDDT, Circular 02/2021/TT-BGDDT, Circular 03/2021/TT-BGDDT, Circular 04/2021/TT-BGDDT and the aforementioned 04 Circulars are amended by Circular 08/2023/TT-BGDDT.

According to Article 3 of Circular 07/2024/TT-BNV, the salary of public employee teachers is calculated by the following formula:

Salary = Coefficient x Statutory Pay Rate

Accordingly:

- For preschool teachers:

The salary ranges from 4,914,000 VND/month to 14,929,200 VND/month depending on the rank and grade of the teacher.

- For primary school teachers, lower secondary school, upper secondary school teachers:

The salary ranges from 5,475,600 VND/month to 15,865,200 VND/month depending on the rank and grade of the teacher.

Note: The above salary does not include bonuses and allowances (if any). Additionally, the above salary is for official teachers. The salary of apprentice teachers is 85% of the above salary.

Will Teachers in Vietnam be Graded at the Highest Level in the Public Service Salary Scale System?

On August 12, 2024, the Central Executive Committee issued Conclusion 91-KL/TW 2024 of the Politburo on continuing to implement Resolution 29-NQ/TW 2013 of the Central Executive Committee of the 11th Communist Party "On basic and comprehensive innovation in education and training, meeting the requirements of industrialization, modernization in a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration."

In Section 6 of Conclusion 91-KL/TW 2024, the Politburo requires the following tasks:

6. Develop, improve quality, standardize the team of teachers and educational management officials at all levels; ensure sufficient number of teachers as per regulatory norms; research mechanisms and policies for teacher mobilization and rotation between localities to fundamentally resolve the situation of redundant, insufficient teachers regionally and enhance education quality for difficult areas. Innovate the state management towards educators synchronously, linked with professional and quality management. Strongly innovate mechanisms, policies for discovering, recruiting, using, training, treating, and honoring talents working in education; implement the policy of prioritizing teachers' salaries to be graded at the highest level in the administrative and career salary scale system, with additional allowances based on job nature and region. Promote democracy, respect for creative freedom, professional and academic specialization, emphasize ethics and teacher responsibility.

The Politburo has required the implementation of educational innovation tasks, including: prioritizing teachers' salaries to be graded at the highest level in the administrative and career salary scale system.

Moreover, the Politburo also requires that teachers' salaries have additional allowances based on job nature and region.