What shall be done by primary and secondary school teachers in Vietnam if they do not have a university degree?

What shall be done by primary and secondary school teachers in Vietnam if they do not have a university degree?​ (Illustrative image)

Based on the provisions of Article 72 of the Education Law 2019, the standard level of training for teachers in Vietnam is as follows:

- Holding a college degree in pedagogy or higher for preschool teachers;

- Holding a bachelor's degree in the field of teacher training or higher for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary school teachers;

- Holding a master's degree for university lecturers; holding a doctoral degree for lecturers teaching and guiding master's theses and doctoral dissertations;

Education Law 2019 has set a higher standard level of training for preschool, primary, and lower secondary school teachers, and university lecturers. Therefore, preschool teachers in Vietnam must have at least a college degree in pedagogy. Primary and lower secondary school teachers in Vietnam must have at least a bachelor's degree in pedagogy.

To address the issue of teachers not meeting the standard level of training, Decree 71/2020/ND-CP has provided specific guidance on raising the standard level of training for primary and lower secondary school teachers as follows:

Firstly: For primary school teachers in Vietnam

According to Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree 71/2020/ND-CP, primary school teachers who do not have a bachelor's degree in primary school teacher training or do not have a bachelor's degree in a relevant major and have a certificate of pedagogical professional training or higher, calculated from July 1, 2020, who have at least 8 years (96 months) of service remaining if they have an intermediate degree, or at least 7 years (84 months) of service remaining if they have a college degree until retirement age, are the teachers subject to the improvement of the standard level of training.

The roadmap for improving the standard level of training for primary school teachers is implemented in two phases (from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2030):

- Phase 1: From July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025, ensure that at least 50% of primary school teachers are either in the process of being trained or have completed training programs to be awarded a bachelor's degree;

- Phase 2: From January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030, ensure that the remaining primary school teachers complete training programs to be awarded a bachelor's degree.

Secondly: For lower secondary school teachers in Vietnam

Based on Clause 3, Article 2 of Decree 71/2020/ND-CP, lower secondary school teachers who do not have a bachelor's degree in teacher training or do not have a bachelor's degree in a relevant major and have a certificate of pedagogical professional training or higher, calculated from July 1, 2020, and who have at least 7 years (84 months) of service remaining until the retirement age as prescribed, are the teachers subject to the improvement of the standard level of training. Therefore, the roadmap for improving the standard level of training for lower secondary school teachers is implemented in two phases (from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2030):

- Phase 1: From July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025, ensure that at least 60% of lower secondary school teachers are either in the process of being trained or have completed training programs to be awarded a bachelor's degree;

- Phase 2: From January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030, ensure that the remaining lower secondary school teachers complete training programs to be awarded a bachelor's degree.

In addition to the regulations for upgrading the standard level of training for teachers, Circular 24/2020/TT-BGDDT (effective from October 10, 2020), has provided guidance on the utilization of primary and lower secondary school teachers who are not subject to the training upgrade requirements as follows:

- For two consecutive years immediately before 2020, teachers who are evaluated and classified as achieving professional standards or higher, or who are rated as fulfilling their duties or higher in the public employee evaluation, and who are in good health, will continue their teaching assignments until retirement as prescribed.

- For two consecutive years immediately before 2020, teachers who are evaluated as not achieving professional standards and have one year rated as not fulfilling their duties in the public employee evaluation, will not be assigned teaching duties and will be arranged to participate in professional training to be assigned to a different suitable position at the educational institution until retirement as prescribed.

- Additionally, teachers who are not in good health and wish to retire, provided they meet the conditions prescribed by the Social Insurance Law, will be allowed to retire as prescribed.

Ty Na

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