A number of international schools and English teaching centres nationwide are facing the prospect of a shortage of foreign teachers caused by the negative impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Vietnam faces shortage of native English-speaking teachers due to COVID-19 pandemic

According to Prof. Peter Coloe, Chairman of RMIT Vietnam, foreign teachers account for 40% of the university’s workforce, and they have not been able to return to Vietnam as a result of the spread of COVID-19.

Prof. Coloe said that with the university’s efforts and significant support from both Vietnam and Australia, a charter flight was conducted on September 6 from Melbourne to Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh province on September 6. On board the flight were a total of 270 teachers and students from RMIT who were travelling back to the country.

At present, all of them are in the process of completing a 14-day period of self-quarantine before they can return to work in October.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh, president of the Canadian International School (CIS), said the school has spent approximately VND1 billion bringing new foreign teachers over from Canada to Vietnam. The expenses largely consisted of flight tickets, quarantine fees, and the fees for several COVID-19 tests.

Similarly, English teaching centres in Vietnam are facing numerous difficulties as a result of a shortage of foreign teachers.

According to an owner of an English centre based in Ho Chi Minh City, despite a huge demand among Vietnamese students for foreign teachers, the centre is unable to pay to bring them back to the nation.

Moreover, a similar situation is occurring in public schools throughout Ho Chi Minh City with students joining integrated programmes. This shortage has caused several schools to adjust their schedule and the amount of time students spend with foreign teachers, in addition to forcing many to lower tuition fees