This is one of the notable contents in the Decree stipulating the roadmap for upgrading the standard training level of preschool, primary, and lower secondary school teachers currently under consultation. It is expected to take effect in 2020.
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To be specific, according to this Draft, the following subjects are required to upgrade their qualification levels:
- Preschool teachers without a college degree in education or higher;- Elementary and secondary school teachers without a bachelor’s degree in education or a relevant major and a pedagogical training certificate or higher.
According to the Education Law 2019, starting from July 1, 2020, the minimum required qualifications for teachers at different educational levels are raised compared to the Education Law 2005, specifically:
- For preschool teachers: Must have a college degree in education or higher. (The current regulation only requires a secondary education degree in education).- For elementary, secondary, and high school teachers: Must have a bachelor’s degree in education or higher. (The current regulation requires an elementary education degree for elementary teachers; a college degree in education or a related college degree with a pedagogical training certificate for secondary school teachers).
Note, the age for teachers to comply with qualification upgrading: Starting from July 1, 2020, preschool, elementary, and secondary school teachers, apart from the training period as regulated, must have 5 more years of work before retirement to comply with qualification upgrading.
The duration for upgrading teachers’ qualification levels at different educational stages is regulated as follows:
- Training for a college degree: From one and a half years to two years for teachers with a secondary education degree in the same field.- Training for a university degree: From two and a half to four years for teachers with a secondary education degree in the same field; from one and a half to two years for teachers with a college degree in the same field.
For teachers trained under the credit accumulation system, the maximum training duration to achieve the required qualification level is no more than 4 years from the date of admission.
Therefore, elementary teachers who currently only have a secondary education degree will have to upgrade to a university degree starting from July 1, 2020, with a maximum training duration of 4 years. Elementary or secondary school teachers currently holding a college degree will have up to 2 years for their qualification upgrade to a university degree.
Nguyen Trinh
