The Ho Chi Minh City authorities have agreed on recruitment policy for foreign preschool teachers, in light of the current shortage.

Statistics from the municipal Department of Education and Training showed that the city now is home to 36 foreign-invested preschools. Most of them often complain about challenges in recruiting foreign teachers.

A representative from Viet Thanh Preschool in Thu Duc District admitted many local teachers cannot meet its requirements for English skills; meanwhile, it faces difficulties in finding foreign people willing to take the job.

Under the Government’s Decree 34, companies and agencies are only allowed to recruit foreign skilled and qualified workers for areas which are in short of labourers. Many foreign teachers who have good English skills are not licensed to teach at pre-schools because they do not have university degree.

At a meeting with the city Department of Education and Training in April, Nguyen Thi Nguyen Thi Thu Mai from Binh An Pre-school said, it is very difficult for the school to seek license for its foreign teachers because many of them have just certificates for pre-school education, not university degree in this field.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s state-owned pre-schools only require teachers to have bachelors degree, and do not require masters or education as the major.

To ease the shortage, many local schools have even resorted to hiring foreign teachers with no qualifications.