VietNamNet Bridge
May 05th, 2010

A ministry plan to select the most popular teacher in each province as an example to others has been criticised as inappropriate by teachers and students.

The Ministry of Education and Training began the campaign to find the teachers most liked by students as a reward and an example to other teachers.

It has ordered that a panel be set up in each school to select the most popular teacher and send the profile to provincial councils for selection of a provincial winner.

The planned May ceremony to grant awards to these teachers has been postponed until November.

Former HCM City’s Universityof Pedagogy Literature Faculty head Tran Huu Ta said the ministry should focus on improving the lot of all teachers rather than organising such a poll.

"What is of most importance to teachers is the respect that students give them, not a title," he said.

The ministry should improve the teachers’ salaries, he added.

"How could teachers be happy when they only receive a bonus of VND50,000 (US$2.60) for Tet holidays?"

Ta said there were already too many titles for teachers, such as excellent employees, people’s teachers, meritorious teachers and so on. A new title would make a mockery of them.

HCM City’s Nguyen Thuong Hien Secondary School principal Ho Cam Thanh said such a random popularity poll could prove harmful.

Students might not be fully aware of their responsibilities in the selection process, so the result might not be accurate, which would hurt many good teachers, Thanh said.

She said her school often surveyed students’ opinions on teachers’ methods, but only as a supervision tool and to improve standards.

HCM City’s Nguyen Thi Minh Khai School principal Duong Thi Truc Bach said her school was not interested in the popularity poll.

"We are focusing on supporting Grade 12 students to pass their graduation examinations and university entrance exams, not selecting the most popular teachers," she said.

Hoang Thi Hong Hai, a former head of the Education and Training Bureau of HCM City’s Tan Phu District, said the ministry’s selection process was not comprehensive.

"At primary schools, students only know one teacher each academic year. At secondary schools they are taught by a few teachers. How could the selection cover all teachers in a school?" she said.

Tran Hoang Phuong, a student of Nguyen Du Secondary School in Ha Noi, said he had not heard of the popularity poll.

Le Lan Huong, a Grade-10 student in Kim Lien High School, said a title was not necessary.

"A teacher who is loved and respected by us does not need a title. That teacher, without any ranking, will be surrounded by students," Huong said.