News and Events

Hundreds of teachers in HCM City have taken on the job of psychologists because of a serious shortage of properly trained people in the field.

Currently only 108 out of 400 teachers who provide psychological lectures at the high school level in HCM City are actually qualified psychologists. Schools have been forced to ask teachers of other subjects to deliver these lectures because they cannot find enough teachers specialised in this field.

Even though the number of teachers trained to teach psychology is still modest, it is up compared to last year, when there were only 29 in the entire city.

District 8 has seen the most severe shortage. Only 16 out of 31 primary and secondary schools have qualified psychologists teaching the subject.

According to the municipal Department of Education and Training, the situation is a result of lack of those who are being educated and trained in the subject in the city. Low pay and benefits add to the problem, they said.

In order to attract more psychology teachers, authorities in HCM City have implemented a temporary policy of paying psychology teachers the same wages and benefits as any other teacher at the school, with the requirement that they work four days per week, each day teaching at least three classes.

Dr. Dinh Phuong Duy, Chairman of the HCM City Educational Psychology Science Association, said that psychological experts are very important and help to diagnose and treat mental illness that might otherwise go untreated.

“Young people in our society tend to face more complicated problems, which need to be addressed by well-trained psychologists," Duy said.