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[Wide Awake]

Eighth grader Nguyen Thuy Han is a disillusioned student.

Her cynicism has nothing to do with her studies, though. It has to do with the teaching profession.

�I don�t want to be a teacher in the future when I see what several of my teachers are doing,� says the 14-yearold student of a school in Ho Chi Minh City�s Phu Nhuan District.

�They seem to focus more on earning money than caring about how much knowledge they can give their students.�

Han was referring to a common practice in many schools in Vietnam whereby students have to attend extra classes opened by their teachers to avoid getting low marks or face other forms of discrimination.

�If we don�t [join], we would be in trouble,� she said, adding that most of the 50 students in her class were not brave enough to refuse the tuition.

After school, Han has to attend classes in English, mathematics, literature, physics and chemistry. Those subjects are important as they are part of the high school graduation and university entrance examinations.

�Most of the time in these classes is spent on chatting and gossiping. When exams or tests come near, the teachers would get us to do some exercises similar to those that would appear in the real tests at school.�

A normal class has 20-30 students in the space of a few square meters and costs VND200,000 (US$12) per month per student, she said.

Parents who allow their children to have the extra tuition said they do so because they do not want to see their kids being discriminated against.

�I would rather spend more money, time and effort [to drive my daughter to the teachers� houses and back home] to make sure my child is not discriminated against and given bad marks. She is a hardworking student.� Han�s mother said,

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has regulated that extra classes can only be held on the basis of official and voluntary suggestions from the parents to the teachers or the school administration.

However, in reality, the process is not very voluntary. Han said her mother has had to write several �voluntary� suggestion letters for her to join in extra classes.

Festival gifts

It is an open secret that students seek to avoid punitive measures or bad marks when they make mistakes by giving their teachers gifts on occasions like the New Year and the Vietnamese Teachers� Day that falls on November 20th.

Fifteen-year-old Phan Mai Uyen, a ninth grader in another school in Phu Nhuan District, said she and her parents visit and bring gifts to her teachers� house on almost every public holiday.

�I do it because most of my friends do the same. We need to earn the favor of the teachers. If I don�t present them gifts, I would not get as good marks as my friends who do so or attend the classes they open at home.�

Uyen said thanks to the gifts, she has many times earned better marks than she deserved. �For example in of the juniors literature, if students don�t give gifts to the teacher, they would never get marks higher than 7/10 no matter how well they do their tests,� she said. �And for those who attend extra classes, the minimum score for them is 5 even if they can�t answer any question in the tests.�

The why question

Han and Uyen have only one explanation for their teachers� behavior-excessive greed.

But when they are asked why the teachers are so greedy, they have no answer.

But those who have to eke out a living, like the student�s parents, see it differently. They say the main reason is the low pay that teachers receive.

�Teachers, like any other laborer in other professions, can�t do their job well on an empty stomach or have to worry so much about where and how to earn enough for their daily living,� said Phan Nhan, Uyen�s father.

With the current formula for calculating teachers� salary in accordance with state regulations, after some 25 years, a high school teacher can earn a maximum salary of around VND4 million (US$210) per month.

Dr. Philip Hallinger from the Hong Kong Institute of Education, who has worked in the educational sector for more than 30 years in many places including the US, Hong Kong and Thailand, said: �In any occupation, there is a minimum standard of salary that is required to engage people in giving their time to their work.

�If salaries are not sufficient to provide them with the means to live the type of life that is suitable for their level of education, it will be natural for them to seek additional means of earning income,�

Han said, �Actually, sometimes in my extra classes, my teachers also complain to students about the low pay they get at school.�

Promises, promises

Nearly four years ago, on the occasion of the Vietnamese Teachers� Day, leaders from the education ministry told teachers nationwide, �We will propose to the government a draft plan on salary reforms for teachers so that by 2010, teachers can live on their own salary.� In Vietnam, most teachers are employed by state-run schools.

Millions of teachers were inspired and hopeful that the promise will materialized, but almost six months into 2010, their income has not changed by much.

English teacher Nguyen Hoang Lan of the Chu Van An Junior High School in Hanoi said her monthly pay is now around VND1.8 million (around $100), which is �barely enough for the school fees for my two children.�

Lan said she also has to teach extra classes in which �I�m susceptible to sore throat, losing my voice and other health risks due to chalk dust.�

She admitted the extra classes decrease her teaching quality in official classes at school.

However, she added, �After-school classes are unavoidable due to the heavy curricula and examination burden. The official periods at school are not enough for us to convey all the necessary knowledge to students.�

Corrupting the mind

The effect of low pay for teachers creates an even more serious problem for students. At a very early age, one lesson they learn is the �value� of bribes and undue favors.

Instead of the long-standing tradition of respecting the teacher, Uyen, Han and other classmates share a disdain for the adults who are willing to discriminate against them if they do not have gifts to offer or refuse to attend extra classes.

�In this era, learning well is not enough. We also need money to buy gifts for people when we need them to do something for us,� said Uyen.

�When we go for medical checkups in hospitals, especially state-run ones, we have to give doctors and nurses money in advance, otherwise, we would receive bad treatment or neglect,� said the teenager.

Has the chance to propagate ideals and morals among children been lost forever?

�I know gifts, extra class attendance and bribes are not good. I know many students and people who are underprivileged would suffer and I hope for a day these customs would no longer exist,� Uyen said.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20100501164402.aspx

[Andy123]

Every country in the world has issues regarding their education system. I am glad that this issue is being talked about in the Viet press. Change starts by talking about the problems.

Calling the teachers greedy is not fair. Sure there are greedy teachers but many Vietnamese students only have 4 contact hours with their teacher when most western school systems have 8 hours.

I have seen first hand many classroom hours used as a �social hour�. I have seen many very good Vietnamese teachers let go, transferred or hours cut when they are in fact great teachers who push their students to work hard. The recent trend that I am observing is that the students are gaining power and influence in the school. They complain often to their parents and the school administration about the teachers. Let�s face it; young people in all countries will lie to get what they want. Young people throughout the world are by nature selfish, unmotivated and directionless.

Good teachers are needed to educate. Letting the students control or influence the classroom is like letting the prisoners run the prison.

A good example is homework. Good luck. Many students don�t do it or simply copy their friends work. Teachers know it but there is little they can do.

The future of a prosperous Vietnam is good education. Countries like Korea, China, Taiwan and others have learned that their economic future depends on how strongly educated their people are.

Beating up the Vietnamese teacher or blaming the teacher is not the solution. It is bigger than that. The real key to solid education is parent involvement. Unfortunately, Vietnamese parents are becoming just like western parents. They have less time to spend with their children and depend on the schools and �extra� classes to care for their children

9 out of 10 times when I have a student with behavioral or educational issues there is a problem in the home i.e. divorc�, absent parent or ambivalent parents.

[Wide Awake]

I can't even imagine trying to make it on what the average Vietnamese teacher earns. I also can't imagine extorting kids, or their parents, for money. I leave that up to the school.

I've never really had any behavior problems with my students. I always compare the actions of my students with the actions I took as a teen (divorce). All of them together don't equal one of me.

[Oh My God]