Education
University teachers stretched thin
  • | Thanhnien, dtinews.vn | September 29, 2011 10:18 AM

More teachers have been taking on multiple jobs, leaving them with tight schedules and affecting academic quality of study for students.

Hong Bang International University in HCMC have to hire more than 60% of their teaching staff from other universities. Photo by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper.

Universities teachers have recently seen running about too much as more and more private universities are established, and this is affecting students\' timetable and studying.

Overworked teachers, under taught students

It has become common for university lecturers to teach at multiple schools, as much as 4 or 5, making them so busy that they need to hire an assistant help arrange a busy schedule.

This is especially true in remote regions with smaller schools.

One teacher at Bac Lieu University said that their economics faculty regularly needs to hire from outside, specifically professors from Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho. He said, "These teachers are already extremely busy, and often classes for the students have to be arranged around their shedules."

An Giang University faces the same problem. Hoang Xuan Quang, Deputy Director of the university said that they have about 650 professors, but are in need of many more. The economics department, specifically, is short handed. "We used to be able to hire teachers from Ho Chi Minh City, but since there have been more and more private universities popping up here, this option is becoming more difficult. They just don\'t want to take on the extra work in far regions."

A third-year student at HCMC Open University’s Business Management Department said that most of her teachers come from other schools, as Economics, Foreign Trade and Agriculture and Forestry.

Luu Hai, a senior student at HCMC Banking University, also complained about the lack of teachers. "Many of my teachers are so busy that they have to delay classes for meetings or business trips."

Universities fail to control

The Ho Chi Minh City Economics University is among the universities who have the highest number of teachers being offered jobs at other schools in the south. According to the university’s deputy rector, Nguyen Viet, teachers normally ask for his permission before taking other work, but many of them do not. “All we can do is remind them not to take on such a large workload that it affects their teaching quality here," he said.

Duong Anh Duc, Deputy Rector of the Natural Sciences University, part of the Ho Chi Minh City National University, also said that they do not have right to forbid teachers from taking outside work.

English and marketing teachers are among the most sough after. An English teacher at Hoa Sen University commented that he often teaches even on weekends. Many of them have to hire assistants to share their work.

Many teachers are apparently forced to take on extra jobs because of low earnings.

The average income for university teachers is VND 100,000-150,000 (USD 5-7.5) per hour. Therefore, all the teachers being asked says that the reason they have to work more is that they earn just around VND3-4 million (USD 150-200) a month while people who work in the business sector can earn thousands.

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