Many schools meet standards but are not 'standard'

On October 22, the Department of Culture and Society, the Provincial People's Council conducted a supervision in Que Phong district according to the program of supervising the construction of national standard schools in the province. Comrade Nguyen Thi Thu Huong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, Head of the Department of Culture and Society, the Provincial People's Council was the Head of the delegation. Photo: Mai Hoa

Standard but not "standard"

Supervising Kim Son Primary School, the working group found that the school has 585 students, but the sanitary area is lacking and does not ensure hygiene and safety.

At Kim Son Kindergarten, a survey of some classrooms and sanitary areas showed that the drainage system was not up to standard.

In addition, Kim Son Primary School, when it was re-evaluated and recognized as level I in 2016, lacked space, playgrounds, and currently its English classrooms and computer classrooms did not meet standards.

Also re-evaluated and recognized as meeting level II standards, Kim Son Kindergarten does not have a separate dining room or bedroom, but shares it with a common room; the kitchen and the area where food is distributed to children are cramped...

The computer classroom at Kim Son Primary School does not meet requirements. Photo: Mai Hoa

Regarding Kim Son Secondary School, in the report of Que Phong District People's Committee, this school is on the list of qualified schools in the district. Although the school was recognized as qualified in 2009 and according to the regulation, it must be re-evaluated every 5 years for re-recognition, it has not been re-evaluated for re-recognition.

In fact, Kim Son Secondary School has just moved to a new facility from receiving the facilities of the district's vocational training center, so the library, chemistry, physics, and biology laboratories are not yet guaranteed, and the English classroom and computer classroom are cramped.

In Dong Van commune, Dong Van I Primary School, Dong Van II Primary School and Dong Van Kindergarten, although recognized as meeting standards, compared to the criteria on facilities, they are still lacking and degraded.

An outdoor physical activity class for children at Kim Son Kindergarten. Photo: Mai Hoa

Need solutions and roadmap to improve quality standards

The explanations of school leaders and leaders of Que Phong District People's Committee to the monitoring delegation pointed out difficulties and shortcomings in the process of building standard schools as well as maintaining standards.

The reason is that resources for investing in school facilities are limited, as some programs have been cut, while local resources and socialization are difficult.

In addition to being concerned about the quality of standard schools, at the afternoon meeting with the District People's Committee, members of the monitoring team also raised concerns that, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, the time limit for recognizing a standard school is within 5 years from the date of recognition of the school meeting the standards, and after that time, if it is not re-evaluated and recognized, it is automatically no longer qualified; however, in the list of schools with the total number of standard schools in the district, these schools are still listed.

Vice Chairwoman of Que Phong District People's Committee Truong Thi Tuyet Mai admitted the shortcomings and problems in building standard schools in the locality. Photo: Mai Hoa

In the whole Que Phong district, 27/48 schools have been recognized as meeting national standards, accounting for 57.44%; of which 9 schools have exceeded the deadline for recognition as national standard schools.

Concluding the meeting, in addition to recognizing the efforts in education in general and building national standard schools in particular in poor district 30a; Head of the Culture - Social Committee of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Thi Thu Huong also emphasized the two core issues in building standard schools, which are facilities, equipment and management staff, and teaching staff to improve to serve teaching and learning.

Therefore, the district needs to pay more attention and focus on directing to improve the quality of these two contents in schools in the area, especially improving the sense of responsibility, moral qualities, and capacity of staff, managers and teachers in schools; associated with improving the quality of mass education, limiting student dropouts.

The district also needs to focus on implementing democratic regulations in schools, ensuring democracy and transparency.

Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Thi Thu Huong suggested that the district needs to have a roadmap to raise standards to avoid standards slipping in schools. Photo: Mai Hoa

In addition to continuing to promote the construction of standard schools, the district also needs to pay attention to reviewing schools that have expired their standards and have a roadmap to improve the quality of the standards, avoiding failing the standards when re-evaluating and recognizing, especially in conditions where standards are increasingly improving.