Vietnam Hanoi to Spend $687,179 on Teacher Training This Year

Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi will invest VND13.4 billion ($687,179) in a project to train teachers for all schools this year, up 59.5% over previous years, said the Department of Education and Training.
The move aims to help local schools deal with serious shortage of teachers, especially in preschools, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported Jan 12. In fact, more teachers in the city have left schools for well-paid jobs, experts said, blaming the problem for low salaries and bonuses. The local authorities has also decided to increase state budget spending by twofold for schools in 2011 to help them better cover increasing expenses and ensure training quality. The capital city now has 580 national standard schools, making up 25.7% of the city’s total. It aims to increase the rate of standardized schools to 50% in 2011-2012 academic year.  Currently, Hanoi has 96 universities and colleges, taking the lead among localities in Vietnam. The city will welcome between 700,000 and 750,000 students in 2020, accounting for 45%-50% of the total number of students in the Red River Delta region. (Nhan Dan – The People Jan 12 p7)