Top 5 Reasons Why Preschool Teachers Complain About Unemployment While Preschools Struggle to Find Staff

For a long time, we’ve only seen the surface of the difficulties preschool teachers face, such as low salaries and the demanding nature of caring for children. However, beyond these challenges, there are significant pressures from management and parents that teachers deal with daily.

Many teachers struggle with a lack of proper equipment and facilities that would enable them to work more effectively, limited opportunities for professional development, and other ongoing frustrations, like constant pressure from parents, frequent inspections, lack of rest time, and insufficient support from their families.

Despite these overwhelming challenges, instead of receiving understanding and support, the public and society often fail to recognize the true value of preschool teachers, and their status remains undervalued.

Preschool education not only provides the best opportunities for children to develop but also ensures over 10 million parents can work and contribute to the economy. Preschool teaching is one of the most demanding careers, requiring many skills, as it involves working with young, energetic children. Compared to other education levels, preschool teachers work the longest hours but receive the lowest salaries in the education sector.

However, the reality for preschool teachers is that their living conditions remain difficult. The public’s awareness and the policies surrounding the profession do not adequately reflect the role and contribution of preschool educators. This is perhaps one of the reasons many graduates lose interest in pursuing a career they once chose.

Ms. Nguyễn Thị Minh Thoa, Principal of Tả Ngài Chồ Preschool, shared:

“At our preschool, especially in remote areas, we face a shortage of teachers. This has led to frequent teacher rotations.

The lack of preschool teachers stems from the low conditions and compensation policies. The schools are located in remote areas, and teachers have to travel long distances. Without a deep love for children, it is very difficult for preschool teachers to stay in this profession.”

Ms. Nguyễn Thị Duyên, a teacher at Tả Ngài Chồ Primary School, reflected:

“Being a preschool teacher is truly stressful. Each class has its own set of challenges, but preschool teachers often play the role of parents for their students at school. From managing meals, hygiene, and learning activities, we take care of everything. So the pressure is immense.

However, the compensation for preschool teachers is not high. Apart from our salary, there are no additional earnings. For example, elementary or middle school teachers can give extra lessons, but here, we have to personally go to students' homes to invite them to attend classes, and many still don’t come.”

Many preschool teachers have voiced that their work is highly stressful, underpaid, and lacks the recognition that other educational levels receive.

Some even lament that being a preschool teacher is a dangerous profession.

There is an old saying, 'a rat runs alongside the pole to enter teaching,' and preschool education is even more selective. 'While factory workers may labor for 8 hours a day, preschool teachers like us work nearly 12 hours, using both our physical and mental energy, yet our salaries are lower than those of factory workers,' shared teacher Hà Linh from TT Preschool in Ho Chi Minh City.

Indeed, the unique nature of preschool education requires teachers to work nearly 12 hours a day. This does not include time spent preparing teaching materials, toys, and lesson plans, but teachers are still compensated as if they work only 8 hours and are not paid overtime.

Preschool teachers have to be at school by 6:30 AM to set up the classrooms and prepare for the children's arrival. At the end of the day, when parents pick up their children, the time varies, with some parents arriving late. After returning the children and cleaning up, it is often past 7 PM. By the time teachers get home, they are exhausted and unable to take care of their own families.

These are likely the main reasons many teachers fear their profession, and the issue of unemployment is not unfamiliar to those who have studied early childhood education. However, as one preschool teacher said, 'To succeed in this profession, one must have a passion for teaching and children, just as any teacher should.'

'To teach this profession, you must have the heart, the responsibility to raise and educate children. If you don’t have that, no degree or qualification will make you capable of handling the weight of being a preschool teacher. If you understand the job, you will know how to manage your words and actions. If you are in this profession just for the money, then it’s better to not be in it at all. Taking care of children is not something that can be managed by someone constantly overseeing the teacher for 12 hours. The most important thing is to always put your heart and commitment into your work.'

Preschool teachers bear the responsibility of both their professional duties and manual labor, making their role a 'two-in-one' occupation. From early morning until late in the day, the constant pressure from the workload, relationships with parents, and societal expectations often leave many teachers feeling overwhelmed and ready to quit their jobs.

Many teachers cannot help but feel disheartened by the behavior of some parents. One teacher shared that despite working tirelessly from early morning to late evening, she often faces unreasonable demands. For example, when a child has eye discomfort, parents blame the teacher and question why the child was allowed to suffer. Another teacher recalled how parents would lurk outside the classroom and, upon seeing the teacher interacting with other children, would call her and ask, 'Why is my child sitting alone?' It’s clear that if someone doesn’t truly love this profession and children, they would likely have quit by now.