Administrative bottleneck halts parent-funded English classes in central Vietnam

Dong Phu Elementary School in Dong Hoi Ward is among the schools that have had to suspend English classes for first- and second-graders.

The school had offered English as an elective subject to first- and second-graders since the beginning of the school year.

Under an agreement with parents, the school hired two English teachers, whose salaries were paid with parental contributions.

The two teachers were responsible for a total of 40 teaching periods per week across the two grades.

"However, since November 9, the school has suspended English classes for first- and second-graders,” principal Bui Thi Thanh Truc said.

“This also means that the two contracted teachers have had to stop working,” she added.

The announcement has caused concern among many families, as their children had already been learning English since the start of the school year.

Halting the lessons midway through the term could disrupt the children's exposure to the language.

"Although it is an elective subject, parents had agreed to the classes, and the children have been attending them since the beginning of the school year. Stopping halfway through is not right," a parent said.

Resolving issues over teacher salary payments

Leaders of elementary schools that have suspended English classes for first- and second-graders said the main obstacle lies in the mechanism for paying teachers' salaries.

Under Circular 85 issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, schools are still allowed to offer English as an elective subject to first- and second-graders, but they are not permitted to use parental contributions to pay for the classes.

The regulation has left many schools struggling to find a solution, as the costs of hiring teachers for elective subjects in these grades have traditionally been covered by parents.

"To continue offering English classes to first- and second-graders without using parental contributions, the province must either allocate two permanent teaching positions to each school or provide sufficient funding for schools to hire teachers on contracts,” Truc explained.

“Without either of these arrangements, schools have no choice but to suspend the classes because they have no funding to pay teachers' salaries,” she said.

Truc said the school sent an official document to the provincial Department of Education and Training in the second half of October, requesting specific guidance, but had yet to receive a response.

Mai Huy Phuong, deputy director of the Quang Tri Department of Education and Training, said new regulations concerning supplementary educational activities and related fees had created difficulties during implementation.

Some educational institutions have yet to work out funding arrangements and may therefore have to suspend elective English classes.

"The department will discuss the matter and provide guidance to educational institutions," Phuong said.