Nearly 40,000 teachers and employees working at non-public education institutions in Hanoi have been subject to salary cuts owing to school closures because of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Thousands of them are not receiving any salary during this period, according to the municipal Department of Education and Training. 

The teachers and employees are among 45,642 working at 3,225 non-public education institutions in the Vietnamese capital city.

These schools, as well as schools across the country, have been shut down since the end of the Lunar New Year fest in early February as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.

Just over 120 non-public schools in Hanoi, including 83 kindergartens, 13 elementary schools, six secondary schools and 20 high schools, have managed to keep paying full salaries to their staff.

Meanwhile, nearly 50 K-12 non-public schools have been unable to make payment of salaries to their employees.

The rest have only managed to pay a part of their employees’ salaries during the school closures.

According to the Hanoi education department, it has tendered a proposal to the city’s administration to provide schools with financial support to help pay a basic salary or stipend to affected staff, especially those in need to afford their rent, raise small children, or get medical treatment.

The proposal also includes a suggestion to provide zero-interest loans to non-public educational institutions to cover their regular operational expenses such as salary payments, land or facility lease, and utility bills.

Earlier, nearly 200 non-public institutions in the Vietnamese capital had signed a joint petition seeking financial support to maintain their operations in this difficult period, citing tuition fees as their primary source of income.

As students have been off since the Lunar New Year holiday, these schools have not been able to collect any tuition from their enrollees.

Hanoi has reported 107 cases of COVID-19 infection, the highest number among all of Vietnam’s provinces and cities.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 245 COVID-19 patients, 95 of whom have recovered and been discharged from the hospital, including 38 recoveries in Hanoi.

No death related to the disease has been recorded in the country.

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