Concerns about standard schools… "failing to meet standards"
Building national standard school criteria to reach a level of quality and international standards at all levels of education is the goal that the country's education is aiming for. Therefore, the national standard measurement has been actively strived for by many localities in our province. As a result, the number of schools meeting national standards is increasing. However, in many places, many schools have "fallen the standard" and many schools are facing the risk of "falling the standard". That is really a difficult problem that the education managers of our province are struggling to find a solution.
(Baonghean) -Building national standard school criteria to reach a level of quality and international standards at all levels of education is the goal that the country's education is aiming for. Therefore, the national standard measurement has been actively strived for by many localities in our province. As a result, the number of schools meeting national standards is increasing. However, in many places, many schools have "fallen the standard" and many schools are facing the risk of "falling the standard". That is really a difficult problem that the education managers of our province are struggling to find a solution.
School meets debt criteria
According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, all schools that have met national standards, after 5 years from the date of recognition, must be inspected, reviewed, and re-evaluated to consider whether they are eligible for re-recognition or at a higher level. However, it is easy to see that currently in our province, many schools, although past the prescribed time, have not submitted a request for re-evaluation to continue to meet standards, and many schools, after a period of being recognized as meeting standards, are in a state of "owing standards" for one or more criteria.
In the 2005-2006 school year, Tan Long Kindergarten (Tan Ky) was the first school in the district to be recognized as meeting national standards. After 7 years of being recognized as meeting standards, the school's campus is still small, not meeting the criteria of a national standard school; most of the classrooms are showing signs of deterioration; the toilets have to be shared by 3 classes in 1 room; the number of children is large, not enough classrooms, so the music room has to be borrowed instead. In addition, the school is still lacking 3 functional rooms. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nam, the school's principal, said: "Recently, the inspection team of the Tan Ky Department of Education and Training came to inspect the criteria of a national standard school. All criteria are met, except for the lack of facilities. Currently, the People's Committee of Tan Long commune has decided to invest in expanding the school campus; building a 2-storey office building, fully equipping classrooms and functional rooms according to the regulations of a standard school".
As for Giai Xuan Secondary School, it was recognized as meeting the standards for the 2010-2011 school year, but currently, according to the regulations, the school still lacks a multi-functional building; some functional rooms such as: union room, team room, duty room; most of the student desks and chairs are degraded. Or like Giai Xuan Primary School, it was recognized as meeting the standards since the 2005-2006 school year, but in reality it still lacks subject classrooms and functional rooms.
Not only schools in mountainous districts, but also in plain districts, where conditions are more favorable, schools are still at risk of "falling standards". Quynh Hau Primary School (Quynh Luu) was recognized as national standard level 1 in the 1999-2000 school year and level 2 in the 2005-2006 school year. However, up to now, due to the increase in the number of students, the school is facing a shortage of classrooms. To solve the problem of lack of classrooms, the school has to arrange for alternating classes on Wednesday afternoons (which should be the teachers' professional activities) and change the professional activities schedule to Saturday mornings. The school's library is also not large enough, so the school has to overcome this by making mobile bookcases under the trees; and cover a part of the yard in front of the library to make a reading room for students.
Hoang Mai Town Secondary School was recognized as meeting national standards in the 2007-2008 school year and is considered a top school in Quynh Luu. However, up to now, according to the regulations of national standard schools, the school still lacks a reading room for students; a multi-function building, subject classrooms, and practice rooms.
Hoang Mai National Standard Secondary School (Quynh Luu) had to "convert" the library reading room into a computer room.
A common reality today is that schools that have been recognized as meeting national standards, the quality of staff and students of the schools is relatively high compared to the general level, but the school facilities still face many difficulties. Most of the schools that have met the standards have not yet met the standards in terms of facilities. The lack of classrooms, functional rooms, multi-functional buildings, and sanitary facilities is quite common. In many schools, the principal's office is also the vice principal's office, the staff room; the team room, the medical room, the accounting room are combined into one, and the library is also the room for teaching equipment.
Difficult to maintain sustainable standards?
The biggest difficulty for schools today is funding. This is a problem that has no way out for the renovation, upgrading, and construction of infrastructure and equipment systems for schools in the whole province as well as the planning of sustainable and long-term development strategies for schools in difficulty. These obstacles and challenges, before and after, are still... "where is the money?". With so many items and works lacking and deteriorating, Tan Long Kindergarten (Tan Ky) needs 3-4 billion VND for investment in construction, this capital is currently a "distant dream" for teachers and students here. Because, according to estimates, if mobilized from the people at the rate of 100,000 VND per person per year, it will take 10 years to be enough, and to shorten the time, the commune has no money, nor hope for any programs or projects. As for Giai Xuan Secondary School, located in a particularly difficult commune under the 135CP category, it is looking forward to the commune's projects. "The poverty rate is up to 50%, so the mobilization of people's contributions is very limited. The annual socialized source is only 80-100 million VND. To complete the criteria on facilities, the school needs 4-5 billion VND. Investing in building facilities is beyond the school's capacity. The school's hope is placed in projects for particularly difficult communes," said Mr. Pham Thanh Nam, Principal of Giai Xuan Secondary School.
Realizing the problem they are facing, from principals to education and training managers, they still cannot come up with a specific feasible solution. Because the problem of mobilizing funding sources is not always within their reach. Another difficulty that many schools encounter when trying to "maintain standards" is land funds. Unlike the difficulty in education quality, to meet the requirements on facilities, it is not only human resources and funding but also necessary to have enough land area. This is absolutely impossible for schools to do. We know that in order to have schools that meet national standards, many communes have had to add more land area to the school. In addition to the main difficulties mentioned above, currently some schools in the province are also facing difficult-to-solve problems such as limited education quality, while the teaching staff is not guaranteed in quantity, not consistent with the subject structure, and the quality is inadequate.
It is worth noting that the decisions to recognize schools as meeting national standards clearly state that the recognition period is 5 years, but many schools ignore this and consider the title of "meeting standards" to be permanent. Some schools even try to build facilities according to regulations to present to the inspection team, but after the recognition decision, they transfer these items to other uses. Therefore, when the recognition period has expired, most schools do not prepare documents or propose re-recognition inspections, but still consider themselves "meeting standards". Meanwhile, the relevant levels and branches do not care about re-recognition inspections for schools. Based on the recognition period, by April 15, 2013, counting the number of schools meeting level 1 standards and the number of schools meeting level 2 standards, the whole province only has 362/1,557 (23.25%) schools that are within the period of being recognized as meeting national standards.
From the 1997-1998 school year to April 15, 2013, the whole province had 765 schools recognized as meeting national standards; including 225 kindergartens: 405 primary schools, 117 secondary schools and 16 high schools. However, according to the 5-year recognition period, by April 15, 2013, the number of schools meeting level 1 standards and the number of schools meeting level 2 standards, the whole province only had 362/1,557 (23.25%) schools that were within the period of being recognized as meeting national standards.
Article and photos: THANH PHUC
