As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and border controls have been set to prevent the spread of the disease. With this, tons of foreign teachers have been stranded and were not able to go back to Vietnam.
Foreign teachers make up 40% of the university workforce in the country according to the Chairman of RMIT Vietnam – Professor Peter Coloe.
Accordingly, the joint effort of Vietnam and Australia resulted in chartering 270 teachers and students from Melbourne to the Van Don International Airport in the province of Quang Ninh last month.
Both of these students and teachers have undergone the 14-day self-quarantine before returning to working this month.
On the other hand, the president of the Canadian International School (CIS) – Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh said that that school has shelled out approximately a billion (in VND) to bring new foreign teachers from across Canada to Vietnam.
The cost estimate consists of flight tickets, quarantine fees and a series COVID-19 tests.
There is a shortage of English teachers all throughout the schools in Ho Chi Minh however, despite the immense need of foreign teachers, English-centre based in the same city couldn’t afford to pay for the expenses to bring them in, according to one of the centre owners.
Due to this shortage, several schools have adjusted their schedules and divided the time of the students with the available foreign teachers, not to mention this is on top of lowering down the tuition fees of these schools.
