VIETNAM

Lecturers struggle to make ends meet, and do research
The country’s Ministry of Education and Training requires university lecturers to spend at least one third of their working time on research but they are struggling to fit in both teaching and research, reports Viet Nam News.According to Thanh niên (Young People) newspaper, the ministry regulates that every university lecturer delivers 270 lectures per year. If they do more, they will receive an extra allowance, but the number of extra lectures cannot be more than 200 a year.
Because of modest fixed salaries, many lecturers tried to work extra or deliver extra lectures. In some cases, teaching hours are converted into research hours with a rate of 1:3, Thanh niên reported. Professor Do Duc Thái, head of the mathematics department at Ha Noi Teacher Training University, said a PhD holder at the university had a monthly official income of about VND8 million (US$352). They found it hard to increase their incomes because of busy teaching schedules, Thái said.
Full report on the Viet Nam News site