Final episode: Need a focal point to speed up the merger process
As mentioned, merging vocational training institutions is inevitable in the current trend. However, after the merger, there are still many problems that need to be solved, requiring vocational schools as well as industry and local levels to build long-term mechanisms.
Thanh Nga - My Ha• August 26, 2024
Nghi Loc District Economic and Technical College and Vinh City Economic and Technical College are two of many units that will be merged in the period 2021 - 2025. Since being included in the school network re-planning, the activities of the schools seem to have "slowed down".
Regarding the merger policy, Mr. Nguyen Huy Luong - Vice Principal of Vinh City College of Economics and Technology said: Merging our school with other vocational schools in the area is an inevitable reality, because the school has been lacking in teaching staff for many years, and the school's facilities have not been invested in accordance with the training scale. In particular, since the merger policy was issued, the school has had difficulty recruiting students. I hope that after the merger, the investment will be more focused, and the cultural teachers of the unit that the school will merge with will perform direct duties, not on a contract basis as at present. In addition, for occupations that are lacking teachers, after the merger, the school will have a basis to propose new contracts for recruiting vocational teachers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Trung Thuan, Vice Principal in charge of Yen Thanh District Economic and Technical College, said: If vocational schools are merged, it will create opportunities for the schools to develop and solve difficult problems regarding facilities and teaching staff. The problem is how to merge to harmonize both units and still ensure the rights of the school's teachers and staff.
In fact, the current merger process is facing many difficulties due to the lack of specific instructions. Regarding the merger of Vinh City College of Economics and Technology, on August 16, 2023, Vinh City People's Committee issued Document No. 4415/UBND-NV to the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs and proposed a plan to merge Vinh City College of Economics and Technology with Nghe An College of Economics - Industry - Handicrafts and under the management of the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs because both units have similar functions and tasks and are located in the city.
Although the document was issued 1 year ago, up to now, the merger has not been implemented. In response to this content, the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs expressed the hope that the Vinh City People's Committee would carefully study the plan to merge with colleges in the area or have a mechanism to dissolve the Vinh City College of Economics and Technology.
According to the explanation of the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Resolution No. 19/NQ-TW dated October 25, 2017 of the 12th Central Executive Committee on continuing to innovate management efficiency and improve the operational efficiency of public service units, clearly stated in the field of vocational education: "Merge secondary schools into colleges; dissolve ineffective secondary schools and colleges". In parallel, Decision 73/QD/TTg dated February 10, 2023 of the Prime Minister approving the planning of the vocational education network for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2045, also clearly stated: "Review and merge vocational education centers and public secondary schools into public colleges". From these guidelines, it can be seen that merging intermediate schools with secondary schools is not appropriate and the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs requires Vinh city to study current documents and practical conditions to have a plan to implement in accordance with regulations.
Regarding this issue, the representative of the Department of Home Affairs said that the Nghe An Department of Home Affairs has consulted the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to get the most accurate advice for the merger of Vinh City College of Economics and Technology. However, the merger into a college or the dissolution of this College in the spirit of Project 14 and Decision 73 still needs time.
Similarly, Yen Thanh District Economic and Technical College has not been merged yet, although the school leaders want to merge to stabilize the organization. In case the merger cannot be done due to the mechanism or regulations, it is necessary to create conditions for the school to recruit workers and create a stable mentality for teachers and staff.
Speaking more about this, Mr. Tran Trung Thuan - Vice Principal in charge of Yen Thanh District Economic - Technical College shared: We wish to merge into a college in the province to improve operational efficiency and help raise the school's position. The current problem is which unit will take charge of the merger because our school is under the district. Meanwhile, the college is under the province. If there is no focal point, the merger will be prolonged and slow to implement.
Through actual monitoring and understanding of difficulties and obstacles in the implementation process, Mr. Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Department of Culture - Society - Provincial People's Council said: Merging vocational training institutions is necessary to improve the quality of vocational training, thereby training high-quality human resources. Therefore, the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs needs to organize a comprehensive review and assessment of the existing system of vocational training institutions to advise on rearranging vocational training institutions, in accordance with the province's planning; select and prioritize investment support for high-quality vocational training institutions according to key occupations; specialized schools and according to regions and areas to train vocational training to meet social needs. Advise on including the planning of the vocational training institution network in the general planning of the province, ensuring compliance with the new situation. On that basis, advise on building and operating a mechanism to regulate teachers and vocational training equipment throughout the province.,meet vocational training requirements according to labor market needs.
Along with that, the province needs to accelerate the plan to merge and dissolve ineffective vocational training institutions according to Project No. 14-DA/TU dated January 25, 2022 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee on training and developing skilled human resources in Nghe An province for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030. Review the implementation of investment projects to build facilities and purchase teaching equipment at vocational training institutions, thereby focusing on focused, key, synchronous, regional and inter-regional investments to overcome the fragmented and scattered situation.
Many people worry that if there is no "pre-merger" and "post-merger" strategy when planning vocational education facilities, how will the problems of surplus land, facilities, staff, teachers, students, etc. be resolved to avoid difficulties, leading to only mechanical mergers and not to improve quality.
Regarding this, Mr. Bui Duc Tuan - Director of the Vocational Education and Continuing Education Center of Anh Son district said: After the merger, the number of students participating in the study after the stream increased every year, but the teaching staff was not allowed to recruit new staff, the school was also not allowed to recruit contract teachers, so it was very difficult in teaching and learning. Currently, the school only requested to train 2 vocational classes instead of 5 classes as before.
For vocational schools preparing to merge, concerns about the teaching staff and recruitment and use of facilities are becoming more evident. Vice Principal of Vinh City Economic and Technical College, Mr. Nguyen Huy Luong, said that regardless of the plan, whether merging into a college or an equivalent vocational secondary school, there needs to be a stable arrangement for the teaching staff as well as appropriate investment. As for the current facilities, according to the Board of Directors of Vinh City Economic and Technical College, the current status for practice items should be kept intact to avoid waste.
Meanwhile, the Principal of Nghi Loc District Economic and Technical College, Mr. Luong Anh Tuan, said: The school is currently expanding its infrastructure investment, including classrooms, soccer fields and some other items; if merged into a college in the neighboring area, this facility will still be a satellite and a quality training place, because in fact, Nghi Loc District's vocational training facility is still a vocational training place that attracts students from mountainous areas and neighboring areas for many decades.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, the management staff and teachers of the intermediate schools merged into the colleges will not be appointed or recruited to replace them if they reach retirement age; the remaining staff who have not yet reached retirement age will be transferred and their positions will be changed from intermediate schools to educational institutions in the province. The Provincial People's Committee also proposed a plan to gradually reduce and stop the enrollment scale of intermediate schools in the year of merger...
It is clear that if the merger is carried out quickly according to the roadmap of Project 14 DA/TU, the vocational schools after the merger will have a number of training majors supplemented and developed to meet the needs of learners and the requirements for training human resources for production, business and services. Training equipment will also be increased, ensuring enough to carry out professional practice activities.
.jpg)
Mr. Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Culture - Society Committee - Provincial People's Council further affirmed: Project No. 14 DA/TU dated January 25, 2022 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Decision No. 73/QD-TTg dated February 10, 2023 of the Prime Minister approving the planning of the vocational education network for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, determined that by 2025, reducing at least 20% of public vocational education institutions compared to 2020 is a positive signal showing that we are focusing on "quality" in planning the network of vocational education institutions nationwide.
