There are still many shortcomings and difficulties in implementing the advanced school model.

On the afternoon of May 7, the Social and Cultural Committee - Provincial People's Council had a working session on the survey and implementation of the Project on advanced schools following the trend of international integration.

Attending the event were comrades who are members of the Provincial Party Executive Committee: Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training.

Also attending were comrade Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Department of Culture and Society - Provincial People's Council, representatives of departments and offices of the Department of Education and Training, relevant departments and branches and schools implementing advanced school models.

Previously, on January 18, 2022, the Provincial People's Committee approved the Project "Piloting the construction of advanced kindergartens and general schools following the international integration trend in Nghe An province, period 2021 - 2030".

The goal of the advanced school model is to provide comprehensive education, aiming at the success of learners and forming modern skills and global thinking in students to prepare them for global citizenship; improving the quality of human resources in the province. The implementation project is also the basis for a number of educational units to become pioneers and core factors in effectively implementing the 2018 Preschool and General Education Program.

There are still many difficulties in implementing the advanced school model.

Following the project, from the 2022-2023 school year up to now, Nghe An has pilotedadvanced school modelat 14 kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and high schools in Nghi Loc, Do Luong districts, Hoang Mai town and Vinh city with 132 classes and more than 4,200 students participating.

According to the assessment of the Department of Education and Training, after 2 years of implementing the model, general schools have innovated teaching methods, teaching organization forms suitable to teaching content and school conditions, close to students to promote students' positivity, contributing to the realization of students' qualities and abilities, promoting creativity and strengths. In particular, they have increased subject experience activities, career orientation experience activities to help students apply knowledge to solve practical situations to form skills and abilities.

At the preschool level, schools have proactively developed school education plans to ensure the implementation of the preschool education program issued by the Ministry of Education and Training and the enhanced education program to comprehensively develop children's qualities, abilities and skills.

At the meeting, in addition to the achieved results, representatives of the Department of Education and Training and members of the Department of Culture and Society analyzed the difficulties and obstacles in the implementation process.

According to Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City, there are currently many difficulties in the implementation process, that is, building an enhanced program must be linked to the needs and wishes of parents and students, suitable to the practical conditions and implementation capacity of the school. However, in actual implementation, after a period of study, some parents have commented because there are subjects that are not suitable, taking exams and getting certificates after each course is still difficult, especially with Information Technology and English.

The leaders of the City Education Department also said that although the advanced model has its own characteristics, there are no priority mechanisms in its implementation. Schools implementing the advanced model all face difficulties in terms of facilities and teaching staff.

Some other opinions are concerned about the quality of input and output of the advanced model, especially at the high school level. Many schools still have difficulty attracting input, the management of the advanced school model is still confused in operating teaching and learning methods, revenue and expenditure, quality control... Many opinions suggest that there should be a standard framework to guide schools in implementation, and unify the collection level between schools. Although the advanced model has been implemented at 4 levels, there is no connection in quality, especially between middle school and high school.

Removing obstacles in teaching mechanism and program

Speaking at the meeting, Director of the Department of Education and Training Thai Van Thanh said that this is the first time the advanced school model has been piloted in Nghe An with the goal of helping students develop comprehensively.

However, because it is being piloted, there are difficulties in awareness (both schools and parents), difficulties in program development, many schools are operating multiple teaching programs (current education program, 2018 general education program and advanced program), so there are difficulties in management and operation. The new model has many problems in organizing teaching and learning, and there is a lack of teachers to meet the new program. Due to the lack of policies to support advanced schools, there is a lack of synchronous investment.

From the above shortcomings, the leaders of the Department of Education and Training proposed that in the coming time, the Provincial People's Council should have a mechanism for collecting fees from advanced schools to ensure sufficient revenue for operations and ensure proper spending. The Department of Education and Training will also re-evaluate the entire pilot implementation of the advanced school model comprehensively and gradually remove difficulties, obstacles and shortcomings. The sector will also continue to pay attention to input recruitment and output commitments.

Concluding the meeting, Head of the Department of Culture and Society Chu Duc Thai affirmed that the implementation of the advanced school model following the trend of international integration was carried out with the goal of improving the quality of education and had been inherited in a basis from the practice in Nghe An and some other provinces. Currently, parents have known and begun to accept the model.

The Department of Culture and Society also shared the difficulties of schools in the implementation process, both objective and subjective. With the shortcomings in the implementation process, in the coming time, comrade Chu Duc Thai suggested that the Department of Education and Training should increase propaganda so that parents can better understand the goals of the program implementation, and see the implementation of the program as for the students' goals, not for business or profit.

In addition, the Department needs to pay attention to admission to ensure quality and gain trust from parents and students. In addition, it is necessary to fully assess the current state of the school's facilities and the items that need to be supplemented to develop an investment plan. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the teaching staff, review the program's revenue, ensure that revenue is sufficient for expenditure and is consistent with the set goals and students' ability to contribute. Revenue and expenditure in advanced school models need to be reviewed and added to Resolution No. 31/2020/NQ-HDND of the province soon to create a favorable mechanism for schools in the implementation process.