Nguyen Van Hieu, director of the HCM City Department of Education and Training, said at a recent meeting held at the Sai Gon University that the number of teachers for several subjects does not meet minimum requirements.

Even though Sai Gon University has trained teachers for the new general education programme since 2018, high schools in the city need art teachers to teach two classes per week, he said.

Hieu stressed the importance of forming a new human resource base for subjects that many students wish to learn.

“It is necessary to recruit more teachers so that students can choose subjects based on real needs. Students currently have no choice but ‘eating’ what is available on the ‘menu’,” Hieu said, adding that for a big city such as HCM City, students should be able to access comprehensive development.

Luong Thi Hong Diep, head of the Preschool Education Unit under the municipal education department, said many foreign teachers lack essential skills to manage young students though they have certificates in teaching English.

Providing these English teachers with short-term pedagogy courses is crucial for them to acquire the skills needed to handle preschool classes efficiently, she said.

In addition to English teachers, professional team leaders in private classes and support staff also need further training, Diep said, adding that the importance of courses that teach management skills to teachers who wish to become managers should be emphasised.

Hong Lam Thuy, head of the department’s Primary Education Unit, said that there was a serious shortage of teachers in English, art and music.

Thuý suggested that Sai Gon University increases the development target of these faculties to meet the demand for teachers in middle and high schools.

Inter-school teachers

Pham Hoang Quan, principal of Sai Gon University, spoke about difficulties in enrollment and employment of students in some pedagogical disciplines. 

“Though Sai Gon University is the only university in HCM City that offers fine arts pedagogy training, it continues failing to meet enrollment quotas. Meanwhile, students taking part in music programmes do not choose to teach. Instead they look to pursue a singing career after graduation,” Quan said.

He said many English teachers prefer working in foreign language centres because of higher income.

Quan suggested hiring art teachers who can teach in many schools at the same time.

“Recruiting inter-school teachers may be the immediate solution.” he said.

Recruiting teachers to work in an area instead of an individual school is also a solution, agreed Hieu. However, it would be challenging to select the school that would be in charge of paying and conducting necessary paperwork for teachers, he noted. 

In response to the education department’s request, Sai Gon University aims to recruit new students for computer science pedagogy in the near future. 

At the meeting, the department and the university signed a comprehensive cooperation programme agreement for the 2022-2027 five-year period. 

Source: Vietnam News