Dialogues on international policy and legislation framework for teachers in the context of globalization
WVR - Vietnam has been making significant strides in revising and strengthening the framework for teachers’ policies through the first Teachers’ Law.
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| The National Consultation Workshop on Policy and Legislation Framework for Teachers: International Experiences and Recommendations for Vietnam in the Context of Globalization was held on November 26, 2024 in Hanoi. (Photo: UNESCO Vietnam) |
As Vietnam advances efforts towards its first Law on Teachers, the hybrid National Consultation Workshop on Policy and Legislation Framework for Teachers: International Experiences and Recommendations for Vietnam in the Context of Globalization gathered more than 150 high-level policy makers, lawmakers, educators, teachers, practitioners, representatives from the Education sector’s Trade Union and from international organizations, UN agencies, and INGOs and Vietnamese NGOs.
Experts from UNESCO Hanoi, UNESCO Headquarters/Secretariat for the International Teacher Task Force and Teacher Education Center under Shanghai Normal University (UNESCO Category II Center) also participated and provided technical support to the Workshop.
With an aim to ensure quality education and lifelong learning accessible to all for the nation’s competitiveness, people’s well-being and happiness as well as global integration, Vietnam has been making significant strides in revising and strengthening the framework for teachers’ policies through the first Teachers’ Law. Currently, the Law on Teachers has been submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and first opinion by the Government of Vietnam at the Eighth Session, 15th National Assembly (taking place in October-November 2024), which is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval at the 9th Session, 15th National Assembly (June 2025).
The Law on Teachers, if passed by the National Assembly of Vietnam, is expected to pave the way for an enabling environment for teachers to maximize their potential and contribute effectively to the renovation of the national education in this fast-changing country.
UNESCO experts provided participants with an overview of the roles that teachers have today. As UNESCO’s Report from the International Commission on the Futures of Education launched in 2021 entitled Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education states: In a new social contract for education, teachers must be at the centre and their profession revalued and reimagined as a collaborative endeavor which sparks new knowledge to bring about educational and social transformation.
Participants were also introduced to UNESCO’s Teacher Policy Development Guide, a practical tool for orienting the development of or reviewing national teacher policies. The Guide aims to address different dimensions of teacher issues and how they correlate, facilitating for an evidence-based national teacher policy integrated with national education sector plans or policies in alignment with overall national development strategies.
The workshop also highlighted practical issues facing teachers globally and in specific countries, discussed in the Global Report on Teachers launched by UNESCO and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 in 2024. The case of China’s Law on Teachers was presented by Professor Li Tingzhou of Shanghai Normal University.
Each panel discussion was followed by lively discussion on the relevance of international experiences to Vietnam’s teacher policy development and legislation, proposing concrete recommendations on relevant policies and legislation on teachers for the country to meet national needs and respond to global trends and foresight.
Upon presenting the current draft Teachers’ Law and calling for inputs, Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director General of the Department of Teachers and Educational Administrators mentioned: the draft Law on Teachers has been thoroughly developed through research and extensive consultation to ensure it motivates and reinforces all teachers to be qualified, dedicated, responsible and proficient for this profession, no matter where they are. We highly appreciate such dialogues with national and international participants in the workshop today.
Ms Valerie Djioze-Gallet, representing UNESCO’s Section for Teacher Development added: UNESCO applauds the Vietnamese Government’s leading agenda in strengthening its policies and legislation for teachers and stands ready to work with the UNESCO Hanoi’s Office to provide further technical support for the country to address its challenges, such as data-based and evidence-based decision making about teachers, their shortages, and professional development.
