The hard life of a nursery school teacher
Overworked and underpaid – that’s why too few people are choosing to be nursery teachers leaving a serious shortage.
Tuoi Tre’s reporters, who arrived in Tan Binh district’s nursery school in HCM City at 6 am, were surprised when they saw classrooms already lit.
They were even more surprised when teachers, many of them with university degrees, were cleaning and tidying rooms and arranging toys.
The teachers of the Tan Binh district’s nursery school are not alone. This is normal for most nursery school teachers in HCM City.
“Cleaners just sweep the corridors and school yard. Therefore, we have to tidy up the classrooms,” said Dinh Thi Kim Phuong from Mang Non nursery school.
Phuong said teachers even had to climb ladders to clean windows, prune trees and water plants in the areas in front of their classrooms.
A working day always begins at 6.30 am and finishes at 6 pm or 6.30 pm. However, after school, teachers still have to work at home as they prepare for the following day.
One teacher said she spent three days make a teaching aid to be used for five days. After that she needed more teaching aids and new topics.
Teachers seriously lacking
The hard work explains why os few people wish to become nursery school teachers. Even big schools like Mam Non No 27 School in Binh Thanh district, cannot recruit more teachers.
The school now has enough official teachers, but seriously lacks cover. If teachers are absent because they have to attend meetings then unqualified child minders, members of the school management board or school workers have to fill in
Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, head of the Pre-school Education Division under the HCM City Education Department, admitted that the lack of nursery school teachers has become so serious schools are having to hire child minders instead.
In addition a lot of nursery school teachers are spending weekend training and studying for further qualifications.
“They get so tired with classes the whole week, and they still have to learn at weekends. This will, in the long term, affect the quality of care for children,” the headmaster complained.
Source:vietnamnet.vn
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