Many new points in the regulations on ensuring the quality of education.
The Minister of Education and Training issued Circular 57/2026/TT-BGDĐT regulating the assurance of educational quality for preschools, general education institutions, and continuing education institutions; and the recognition of national standards for preschools and general education schools.
The Ministry of Education and Training stated that Circular No. 57/2026/TT-BGDĐT was issued to concretize Article 110 of the Education Law on ensuring educational quality, and to institutionalize the Party and Government's policy on reforming educational management in a substantive way, improving governance efficiency and strengthening accountability. According to the Law, quality assurance is a regular and continuous activity of educational institutions, focusing on innovating teaching methods, developing the teaching staff, strengthening the conditions for quality assurance, and improving the effectiveness of school governance.
Based on this, the Circular is developed to shift from management based on cyclical evaluation and accreditation to management based on processes and performance results, in which quality assurance activities are integrated into the regular management activities of educational institutions. At the same time, the Circular clarifies the relationship between quality assurance and accreditation of schools meeting national standards: Quality assurance is an internal activity, while accreditation is a state management activity; the results of quality assurance are one of the reference points in the assessment.
The circular also clearly defines the recognition of schools meeting national standards as a state management tool, implemented based on the educational performance and quality assurance data of the educational institution. Recognition is carried out according to current regulations, without creating any separate documentation or evidence requirements beyond those related to management and quality assurance activities. This ensures effective state management while minimizing compliance costs and ensuring interoperability throughout the entire system.
4 new points in the Circular
First, innovate the approach to quality assessment:Instead of focusing on preparing supporting documentation for evaluation at a single point in time, the approach shifts to evaluation based on management data, implementation processes, and educational outcomes. Quality assurance activities are now operated as an ongoing process, integrated with governance and quality improvement within the school.
Secondly, streamline the criteria system:The criteria system has been reviewed, reduced in number, and focused on core contents according to the Education Law, including school governance, staff, teaching organization, educational outcomes, and ensuring conditions, thereby increasing feasibility, reducing fragmentation, and aligning with the model of large-scale educational institutions with multiple school locations after reorganization.
Third, use "levels" as a tool to track progress:The levels are designed to reflect progress and quality improvement over time, not to be used for ranking or determining pass/fail at a single point in time, but rather to serve for monitoring, supervision, and management at the system level, especially in the context of managing educational institutions with diverse sizes and structural models.
Fourth, enhance the use of data in quality management:The circular provides guidance on using management data, electronic records, and operational results as the basis for evaluation; quantitative data will be used according to a suitable roadmap to support analysis, monitoring, and quality improvement, and will not be used as an exclusion threshold or as a replacement for overall assessment.
In the context of the government's ongoing restructuring and reorganization of the educational institution network towards streamlining operations, expanding scale, and improving governance efficiency, this Circular serves as a quality assurance tool during the system's transition. The merger and reorganization of educational institutions changes the operating model from independent units to larger institutions with multiple campuses and educational levels, creating new demands for monitoring, controlling, and maintaining educational quality.
By shifting from a cyclical assessment approach to monitoring processes and results, enhancing data utilization, and linking quality assurance activities with school governance, the Circular helps state management agencies and educational institutions continuously monitor, maintain, and improve quality, especially in the post-merger period. The Circular contributes to ensuring that the restructuring of the education system not only achieves the goal of organizational streamlining but also maintains and enhances educational quality, in line with the requirements for system operation and development in the new phase.