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PrintSouthern provinces plan to hire Filipino English teachers
Update 14/12/2012 - 07:53:36 AM (GMT+7)Following Ho Chi Minh City’s footsteps, two neighboring provinces, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, consider recruiting Filipinos to teach English at K-12 public schools.
The planned recruitment is an implementation of a national project in which Vietnam aims to improve its K-12 students’ command of English by 2020.
Binh Duong plans to employ 20 Filipino English teachers between 2013 and 2015, according to Duong The Phuong, director of the local Department of Education and Training.
Each of the Filipino teachers will receive US$2,000 a month, Phuong said, adding the total salary budget will be $960,000 for this period.
Candidates must have a college degree or higher qualifications, the know-how to teach English, and an adequate understanding of the Vietnamese educational system, he said.
Successful candidates will work full-time and teach English with a focus on speaking and listening skills at provincial schools, Phuong said.
Tuoi Tre has learned that education officials in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong Province have worked with a brokerage firm, whose office is located in the southern city, to recruit Filipino English teachers.
These teachers will be compensated $2,000 a month on the dotted line but the real amount they will receive depends on the agreement between the officials and that firm.
A Binh Duong education official disclosed that this is a “big and prestigious” company, without providing any further details.
They will also have to observe classes by Vietnamese teachers to provide feedback for them as well as participate in extra-curricular activities and discussions on expertise with their local colleagues, the official noted.
A departmental delegation recently went to the Philippines and chose over ten Filipino English teachers, he revealed, adding that his department will seek approval from the Binh Duong People's Committee before officially hiring any of these individuals.
Asked about why the department does not recruit Vietnamese teachers of English rather than Filipinos, Phuong explained that this is a solution to improving the teaching and learning of English.
He added that Binh Duong is sending Vietnamese teachers of English for further training at its universities at the moment.
Dong Nai education department officials also paid a recent visit to the Southeast Asian country to look for English teachers for provincial schools.
“We have found 24 eligible candidates,” Phan Dinh Chuong, an official said. “But we are still weighing the options, and have to secure permission from the Dong Nai People's Committee before any recruitment.”
Chuong said that they have yet to decide on salaries for these teachers.
Replying to a question on retraining Vietnamese teachers of English, Chuong said “the education department has many plans to provide extra training for local teachers as well as sending them overseas for further education.”
Earlier, Ho Chi Minh City education officials went to the Philippines and selected only 17 Filipino English teachers while city schools had registered for 29 such teachers.
Ten of the selected will teach at elementary schools while the rest will be sent to middle schools.
The city plans to recruit 100 such teachers for the K-12 education system in this academic year.