Student tutors struggle to find new jobs after "tightening" on extra teaching

(Dan Tri) - After Circular 29 officially took effect, many students struggled to find new part-time jobs. For many young people, tutoring used to be a job that helped them cover their study and living expenses.

Students struggle to find new jobs for fear of being fined

On February 14, Circular 29 regulating extra teaching and learning officially took effect. That was also the day Pham Van Cuong - a student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication - lost his job to support his life.

Cuong tutors some 4th and 5th graders in math. He said: "I earn about 5-6 million VND per month from tutoring, and in peak months it can be up to 7 million VND. This job helps me be independent in my tuition fees and daily living expenses."

Tutoring once helped Pham Van Cuong, a student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication, have a stable income (Photo: NVCC).

Normally, Cuong tutors 3 students and teaches 2 sessions/week. Because he has teaching experience and can teach at an advanced level, Cuong earns 200,000 VND per session.

Since Circular 29 came into effect, banning tutoring for primary school students, Cuong has struggled to find a new job. He is worried that if he continues teaching, he may be fined, which will affect his school performance.

Currently, the male student works as an employee at a bookstore with a salary of 18,000 VND/hour. Cuong said that because he does not have much experience, he has to look for a low-paying job to temporarily "put out the fire".

"Starting over" made Cuong's life very difficult. The income from working as a store clerk was much lower than that from tutoring, so Cuong had to cut down his expenses to the minimum. Due to his family's difficult circumstances, Cuong tried every way to find a new job instead of asking for support from his family.

Like Pham Van Cuong, Nguyen Khanh Vy - a second-year student at the Academy of Finance - is looking for a new job after the "ban" on tutoring for primary school students came into effect.

Previously, Khanh Vy often tutored Vietnamese for first graders. This job also helped Vy become financially independent from her first year.

"In addition to being financially independent, I also help my sister with some expenses such as money for books, school supplies, and monthly tuition fees. This decision has a big impact on students like me who make a living as tutors, especially when my family's circumstances are quite difficult," the female student shared.

Vy confided that she once tutored 4 students at the same time, including 2 students sharing a lesson and 2 students teaching separately. Because she tutored weak students, if she worked hard, Vy could teach up to 10 sessions a week.

Besides, because she is loved by her students' families, in addition to teaching Vietnamese, Vy is also asked to tutor some other subjects to help students prepare for final exams.

Vy’s peak monthly income can be up to 7 million VND. Tutoring is a flexible job and brings a stable income, so Vy couldn’t help but worry after receiving information about Circular 29.

Before the Circular officially took effect, Khanh Vy had prepared for other jobs besides tutoring elementary school students. For over a month now, Vy has been selling snacks online to earn extra income.

However, because she doesn't have much business experience and doesn't have a stable customer base, the female student is still struggling with a much lower income than before.

Khanh Vy also intended to switch to teaching secondary school students, but because she was used to teaching 6-7 year old students with the purpose of learning to read and write, this was a big challenge for Khanh Vy. Vy said she would continue to look for a new job that suited her.

"I lost my internship opportunity"

For students majoring in Primary Education, tutoring is not only a way to earn extra income but also an opportunity to practice their profession while still in school. Pham Thuy Linh, a student at Hanoi National University of Education, is one of those students.

"Even though I can't stand on the podium, tutoring helps me practice patience, improve my ability to interact with students, and how to talk and communicate with parents.

Thanks to tutoring, I have been able to learn and practice many different teaching methods. Losing the opportunity to practice my profession, I feel very regretful," Linh expressed.

According to Thuy Linh, not being able to tutor primary school students causes many disadvantages not only for tutors but also for students and parents. Most of Thuy Linh's students have parents who are busy with work and do not have time to teach or tutor their children.

To have the opportunity to practice and earn extra income, Thuy Linh and some other Primary Education students chose to work as teaching assistants at tutoring centers. However, the monthly salary when working at the center is usually around 4 million VND/month - lower than working as a tutor if you teach diligently.

Besides, for Linh, tutoring is still more convenient than teaching assistant, because the teaching assistant's main task is to manage the classroom and assist the main teacher, with lower income and more workload.

Controlling student tutors - a difficult problem with no solution

Besides young people who are afraid and decide to stop tutoring elementary school students because they violate the law, there are still tutoring centers - parents - students who still "find each other" to continue tutoring.

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Hoang T. - a student tutor - said: "At our center, recruiting elementary school tutors is normal. If parents have a need, the center still accepts and looks for tutors.

My parents shared that because the new Circular was issued, everyone temporarily "stopped" for a while, but later they will continue to let their children study with tutors.

In the role of a student looking for a place to teach, Dan Tri reporter had the opportunity to "listen" to the tutoring centers' opinions on this issue. Accordingly, the answers received were "no problem", "not related to students".

Tutoring centers still provide tutoring services for primary school students after Circular 29 (Screenshot).

A representative of BA tutoring center shared: "If you are afraid that the circular will affect you, then you do not understand anything about the circular. Students are not the subjects that the circular refers to.

Circular 29 is only effective for school officials, civil servants and teachers. Elementary school tutors still teach as usual, it has nothing to do with it."

However, Circular 29 clearly states that the subjects of application are "extra teachers, extra learners; organizations, individuals organizing extra teaching and learning and related organizations and individuals", not just limited to public school teachers.

At the same time, the Circular clearly states that no extra tutoring is allowed for primary school students. That is, tutoring in math, Vietnamese, and English in the general education program is not allowed.

Cases of extra teaching and learning that are not defined in the circular and are not prohibited include: teaching pre-primary school, nurturing artistic talents, sports, life skills, math thinking, STEM, English certificates, etc.

Therefore, many students are worried and quit their jobs for fear of breaking the law. However, there are also many centers that are still "carefree" about the regulations and continue to recruit tutors.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/gia-su-sinh-vien-chat-vat-tim-viec-lam-moi-sau-khi-siet-day-them-20250306162610471.htm