[jackbl]

Schools fret as best teachers migrate to private schools
==============================================

Principals of public schools are worried at a steady exodus of their best teachers to private and international schools which is worsening a teacher shortage in Ho Chi Minh City.

“We knew when we agreed to teachers’ requests for further training that we may face a brain drain, but we have to help them improve their professional knowledge,” said Nguyen Bac Dung, principal of Tran Dai Nghia High school.

The school recently lost 10 teachers, most of them highly qualified.

“I spoke to most of those who wanted to leave about the pros and cons of their decision. But if we are unable to persuade them, we have to let them go,” Mr. Dung said.

The High School for Gifted Students fears it will soon lose six teachers who got masters’ degrees and another who is now in the US for doctoral studies.

During the last school year the city saw 1,286 teachers resigning, mostly from primary schools. Tan Binh District was the biggest loser.

In the last few years many private and international schools have come up and lured away a large number of English teachers from State-run schools.

At the start of this school year last August Trung Vuong High School had vainly asked the city Department of Education and Training for three teachers. Meanwhile, two teachers quit the school and left for private schools. To cope with this, the school has had to recruit four teachers.

P., a teacher who resigned from a well-established high school after getting a master’s degree from the UK, said: “I turned to a new environment to test and develop my ability. Another reason is that the income at the new school is 10 times higher than my previous one.”

Dinh Thien Ly High School, a private school in District 7, offers teachers an average salary of US$500 per month.

Public schools cannot attract good teachers because of the low salaries, said Associate Professor Dr. Vo Thi Bach Mai, principal of the High School for Gifted Students.

Since its establishment 10 years ago, this school offered free education and stipends to talented students. But after last year’s soaring inflation, it began to demand a monthly tuition of VND45,000. However, this is just enough to pay teachers an extra VND2,000 for an hour.

Another concern is that not many high school students choose to enter teachers’ training schools now, threatening to worsen the teacher shortage.

The city only gets 1,000 new teachers every year, or just a fourth of its requirement.

By Hong Lien – Translated by Minh Tam