Vietnam - District obliges teachers to pay for New Year fireworks

Many K-12 teachers in Chau Thanh A District of the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang protested Wednesday that they have been coerced to donate one day’s salary to a local fireworks display scheduled to celebrate the Lunar New Year (or Tet in Vietnamese), which falls on January 23.

Many have expressed very strong opposition, complaining that teachers already suffer from very low pay, and they are in the dark about Tet bonuses, which are expected to be quite low as well.

Nguyen Phuoc Binh, head of the Chau Thanh A education board, said not only teachers, but also civil servants have to pay the amount, since it is the district’s policy.

The majority of its 1,200 teachers have agreed to this guideline, Binh said.

After the display, he claimed, the remaining balance – if any – will be spent on building houses for poor teachers.

Hau Giang is still considered an impoverished province after its separation from Can Tho City in 2004.

K-12 teachers across the country continuously complain that they cannot live on their income. Many have even quit school, citing low pay as the main reason.

In September, for instance, dozens of preschool teachers in Thanh Hoa Province’s Nhu Thanh District gave up their job to protest low salaries.

Thousands in the province were then struggling with a small stipend of less than US$1 a day while others could earn no more than $24 a month.

A large number in the province had to keep side jobs to support their families, including selling stationery and picking fruit for a price.

Even in Ho Chi Minh City, where economic conditions are among the nation’s best, hundreds of teachers have already quit preschools.

Some became office workers, whereas others opted to be beer girls in restaurants, as in Vietnam almost all preschool teachers are women.

TUOI TRE

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