Managing independent private preschools: Need to stick to professional schedules

Meet all needs
Hoa Ly private kindergarten is located deep in an alley in Yen Khang hamlet, Hung Dong commune (Vinh city). It currently has more than 40 children, most of whom are between 20 months and 3 years old.

Ms. Tran Thi Hoa - the owner of the facility shared: "The facility takes care of children from 7 months to 4 years old. The children here are mainly children of workers, so many parents have to work overtime, sometimes until 9 or 10 pm and still haven't picked up their children. Some parents even call the teacher to leave them overnight. The tuition fee here is only about 1 million VND, much lower than other non-public kindergartens."

Hoa Ly Kindergarten (Hung Dong Commune, Vinh City) takes care of children from 6 months to 24 months old. Photo: Thanh Nga

Hung Dong commune has more than 1,100 preschool children aged 6 months to 5 years old, more than 60% of whom are children of workers. Because the area has many temporary workers, the need for children to start school 2 years earlier is very high. Currently, there are 12 private preschools in the commune. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoai - a cultural officer of the commune said: "If there were not these 13 private facilities, workers who come to stay here would have to send their children to their grandparents, or have to quit their jobs to take care of their children."

According to the report of Vinh City Department of Education, there are currently 108 independent private preschools and family child care groups in Vinh City. The rate of mobilizing preschool children to attend class is 47.7% (children from 6 months to under 36 months). Of which, public schools only reach 18.7%, non-public schools reach 29%, the number of preschool children attending class reaches 98.5%. Of which, the public preschool sector mobilizes 64.8%, non-public schools reach 33.6%.

Like Hung Dong commune, Le Loi ward is an area with many preschool-age children who need to go to class before the age of 2. Mr. Bui Viet Hung - Vice Chairman of the ward People's Committee said: "Because of the characteristics of the area, there are no public preschools, and there are 5 apartment buildings with a structure mainly of young families, so even though there are 5 non-public preschools opened for a few years now, they still cannot meet the needs of children in the area. Therefore, the emergence of 8 more independent private preschools and family child care groups in the area is inevitable."

A private kindergarten in Le Loi ward (Vinh city) does not ensure adequate space for children. Photo: Thanh Nga

Difficult to manage

Obviously, the opening of independent private kindergartens in Vinh City has met the needs of the people. However, besides the benefits, there are still shortcomings when the management is still loose.

Typically, independent private preschools in Le Loi ward have not met the required facilities. Ms. Nguyen Thi H - owner of B. Nh private independent preschool in Le Loi ward said: "The facility currently only accepts about 20 - 30 children, from 10 months to 4 years old, however, most of the children live in the same room. Children from 3 years old and up will learn lessons according to the regulations for their age group". Meanwhile, according to the regulations in Circular 13/2015/TT - BGDĐT, the number of children in each class group is only 7 children maximum, and they must live and study in different rooms, each room has a door.

Article 14, Circular 13/2015/TT - BGDĐT dated June 30, 2015 on promulgating regulations on the organization and operation of private kindergartens stipulates that the number of children in a group of children, a private independent kindergarten class must not exceed 50 children. The maximum number of children in each group class is 7 children; the child care and nurturing room must have a minimum area of ​​15 m2.²; have an agreement with parents on adoption, care and safety for children. Have documents guiding the implementation of child care and education.

To manage independent private preschools in the city, Vinh City Department of Education has stipulated that each independent private preschool is subject to professional management by the public preschool in the area. Mr. Le Truong Son - Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City said: "According to the provisions of Article 13 of Circular 13 - /2015/TT - BGDĐT dated June 30, 2015, the Department of Education is responsible for coordinating with the authorities of wards, communes, districts and cities to manage the expertise of independent private preschools, but in reality, our human resources are not enough, so every year, we have issued an official dispatch directing and decentralizing to public preschools in the area to direct and manage the expertise of these facilities, and consider it an annual assessment criterion for public preschools. If any independent private preschool is suddenly inspected and does not meet the professional criteria, the public preschool in that area will have its competition points deducted."

Yen Binh independent private kindergarten - Hung Dong commune (Vinh city) is currently taking care of 100 children. Photo: Thanh Nga

According to the regulations of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City, in Vinh City there are 2 public kindergartens responsible for providing professional guidance to independent private kindergartens in the city, but in reality this regulation is almost never implemented. “Every year, the commune conducts regular and surprise inspections on food safety and fire prevention at independent private kindergartens and family child care groups in the area, but public kindergartens in the area rarely participate with us. Because in reality, independent private kindergartens and family child care groups in Hung Dong are too crowded while the teaching staff of public schools is small, so they cannot cope,” said Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Hoai, a cultural officer of Hung Dong commune.

According to the report of the Vinh City Department of Education: There are currently a number of non-public schools that have been established for a long time with small models, cramped facilities, and insufficient conditions for renovation and new construction, which limits the organization of activities for children. In addition, public preschools assigned to be in charge of professional classes are currently lacking teachers, so professional training for independent classes is not organized regularly. Some wards and communes have not really taken part in the management of private independent classes, so there is still a phenomenon of private independent classes operating spontaneously and not meeting the conditions.