Joint Circular No. 8/TTLB guiding the implementation of Decision No. 152/TTg of the Prime Minister on supplementing policies for kindergarten teachers

CIRCULAR
JOINT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND FINANCE DECREE NO. 8/TTLB DATED MAY 21, 1977
GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PRIME MINISTER'S DECISION NO. 152/TTG
REGARDING THE COMPLEMENTARY POLICIES FOR KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS
The Prime Minister issued Decision No. 152/TTg on April 8, 1976: Kindergarten classes were to be integrated into the primary education system. Kindergarten teachers meeting the required criteria would be recruited into the state payroll and would receive salaries according to the salary scale and all other benefits accorded to primary school teachers. Teachers who did not meet the criteria at that time would receive monthly remuneration equivalent to 85% of the starting grade of primary school teachers' salary scale and all other benefits accorded to primary school teachers.

The educational sector has the responsibility to manage comprehensively: personnel work, staffing, wage fund... for kindergarten teachers in rural areas, towns, cities, city districts, agencies, factories, construction sites, agricultural farms, and forest farms.
To implement the aforementioned decision, with the agreement of the Ministry of Labor (in Circular No. 339/LĐ-LHCSN dated March 30, 1977); the General Confederation of Trade Unions of Vietnam (in Circular No. 19/ĐSTL-TCĐ dated January 6, 1977), and the consent of the Government's Organizational Department and the State Planning Commission, the Joint Ministry of Education and Finance issues this circular for guidance as follows:
I- CONDITIONS, CRITERIA FOR RECRUITMENT AND OBJECTIVES NOT YET RECRUITED INTO STATE STAFF

A- Kindergarten teachers must meet the following criteria to be considered for recruitment into state staff: (based on the recruitment and dismissal criteria stipulated in the regulations issued pursuant to Decree No. 24/CP dated March 13, 1963 of the Council of Ministers and specific provisions of the Ministry of Education).

1. Must have citizen rights, clear background, and voluntarily serve.

2. Have graduated from training programs for kindergarten teachers with secondary, college, or university levels (7+3 or 9+2 and above).
3. Possess good moral character: trusted by parents and students.
4. Ensure teaching meets the requirements of the curriculum and subjects.
5. Be in good health: free from communicable diseases and deformities.
B- For kindergarten teachers already teaching in private schools (these schools have been registered and recognized by the Departments of Education) since before April 7, 1976, the recruitment process into state staff will be handled as follows:

- Meeting the criteria set out in points 1, 3, 4, and 5 above:

- Regarding vocational qualifications (point 2):
+ Must have completed kindergarten teacher training (or equivalent) at the 7+1 level or higher.
+ Or must have completed grade 7 (general or supplementary education) and taught for five years or more, having attended at least three summer refresher courses during this period.
When recruiting, consideration may be given: Grade 5 for teachers working in Catholic areas, long-serving teachers with significant contributions to the field, or those recognized as excellent teachers (by provincial or municipal authorities) or outstanding workers; Grade 4 for ethnic minority teachers (in mountainous regions).
C- Kindergarten teachers who meet criteria 1, 3, 4, and 5 but not criterion 2 (regarding vocational qualifications) should be provided with active training plans by the Departments of Education to achieve the necessary qualifications so they can be recruited into state staff within the shortest possible time.

II- REGULATIONS AND POLICIES FOR KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS

A- Kindergarten teachers meeting the criteria (as detailed in point B of Part I) will be eligible for recruitment into state staff and will enjoy the following:

1. With vocational qualifications:

- Graduates of primary teacher training programs (7+1; 4+3 in highland areas)... will receive salaries according to the primary school teacher salary scale, starting at grade 40.

- Graduates of secondary teacher training programs (7+2 recognized as secondary; 7+3; 10+1) will receive salaries according to the primary school teacher salary scale with secondary qualifications, starting at grade 45.
2. After being assessed and placed at the starting grade, if their living allowance is lower than previously, careful consideration will be given to the five criteria, six years or more of service, and satisfactory teaching results to move up to the next grade (from 40 to 47; from 45 to 50...); when moving up, attention will be paid to the comparison with primary school teachers who received a salary increase in 1976.

3. In addition to salary, kindergarten teachers recruited into state staff will also enjoy all other benefits accorded to primary school teachers in state staff.

B- Kindergarten teachers who do not yet meet the criteria for recruitment (including those who have been teaching in kindergarten classes since before April 7, 1976 and continue to teach continuously) will enjoy the following:

1. Receive monthly remuneration equivalent to 85% of the starting grade of primary school teachers' salary scale.

2. Will be provided with coupons to purchase supplies such as sugar, food, cloth, and food rations at subsidized prices like primary school teachers in state staff.
3. Will enjoy certain social insurance benefits: sick leave allowance, maternity leave allowance, work injury allowance; allowance for large families; hardship allowance; child care allowance; collective dining hall allowance (if eating at the collective dining hall) like primary school teachers in state staff.
4. Will enjoy expenses for training and further education; long-term study living allowances; overtime pay; textbooks and professional literature according to current regulations like primary school teachers in state staff.
They will have paid holidays and public holidays like primary school teachers in state staff.
5. The remuneration for these expenses for kindergarten teachers not yet in state staff will be covered by local government budgets (educational service funds).
C- Implementation of social insurance and certain allowances.

1. Time spent as a kindergarten teacher will be counted as continuous service time for implementing social insurance and other allowances.

1. The probationary teaching period shall be counted as continuous service time for the implementation of social insurance regimes and certain other allowances.
2. To fully implement social insurance and collective welfare regimes for newly recruited teachers who have been incorporated into state staff and for newly recruited teachers who have not yet been incorporated into state staff, educational agencies managing state staff and teacher salary funds must contribute to the social insurance fund an amount equal to 3.7% of the actual salary fund (managed by the General Confederation of Trade Unions) and to the retirement, disability, and survivor fund an amount equal to 1% of the actual salary fund (managed by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs) for unified management by competent authorities.
3. Newly recruited teachers who were previously workers or civil servants within state staff and then switched to teaching newly recruited students:

- If they meet all five criteria today, they shall be transferred to become newly recruited teachers, receiving primary school level I teacher pay grades, retaining their previous pay grade if it was higher than the new one.
- If they do not meet criterion 2 (professional qualifications), they need to be further trained so that they can be officially considered as newly recruited teachers, with current salary and benefits.
- If they do not meet the recruitment criteria for newly recruited teachers, the agency or enterprise... shall return them to their original positions as workers or civil servants (the work they did before switching to teach newly recruited students).

III- IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

A- Based on the above criteria, Departments and Commissariats of Education need to develop plans to survey and classify the number of newly recruited teachers currently teaching from April 7, 1976, onwards to implement formal recruitment and policies.

1. Newly recruited teachers meeting the criteria defined above shall be reviewed and proposed by educational agencies to the People's Committee at the same level to issue a decision on formal recruitment according to the approved staffing quota and salary fund of the education sector.

2. For newly recruited teachers who do not meet the criteria for formal recruitment but are currently receiving 85% of the initial pay grade of primary school level I teachers, Departments and Commissariats of Education need to actively create conditions for them to study through various methods to quickly reach the required standards, specifically:

- If they still have the potential and health to improve, even though their educational level is only up to grade 6 (for lowland areas) or grade 3 (for mountainous and island areas), but they are in good health, have clear backgrounds, have the right attitude and love for children, and possess good moral qualities, educational agencies should actively provide additional training. After a maximum of 5 years of training, if they do not meet the specified criteria, they will be firmly dismissed from their positions.
- The Ministry of Education will guide levels to organize examinations to assess and recognize these standards to implement policies.

3. For newly recruited teachers who do not meet the specified criteria, the following measures will be taken:

- Those who are not healthy enough will be firmly sent for treatment, reassigned to other work, or dismissed.
- Teachers who do not meet the moral quality criteria, have unclear backgrounds, or do not meet the professional qualification criteria, lack the ability and conditions to improve, will not be recruited as newly recruited teachers.
- For long-serving teachers who are old and unhealthy and unable to continue working, specific regulations will be outlined in a separate circular.

B- The date recognized for formal incorporation into state staff for those who meet the criteria shall be April 8, 1976 (the date the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 152/TTg).
For teachers incorporated into staff and for those who do not meet the criteria for incorporation but are receiving salaries (or fees) starting from September 1, 1976 (the first month of the new academic year). The backdated salary and allowances will be claimed from the local budget for the year 1977.

During the implementation of this circular, if there are difficulties, localities must promptly report to the Joint Ministries for appropriate solutions.