Students are allowed to join the school council and have the right to elect the principal.

There should be student participation and the number of external members in the school board should be reduced... are some of the issues that "heated up" the workshop on providing comments on the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Higher Education organized by the Ministry of Education and Training on December 5 at Hanoi National University.

Have students on the school board to… follow international standards

A new point included by the Ministry of Education and Training in the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on University Education is that students participate in the school council.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc chaired the workshop. Photo: My Anh

According to Associate Professor Dr. Le Minh Thang - Chairman of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology Council, bringing students into the school council is extremely necessary.

“This is a very new and positive point. When Hanoi University of Science and Technology participated in an international program, they wondered why we did not have students participating in the school council. Even though we explained that there was a comrade Secretary of the Youth Union, they still did not accept it.

Therefore, in my opinion, having students in the school council is necessary. Students need to have a voice and be able to decide on school issues" - Associate Professor Le Minh Thang expressed his opinion.

In addition, she said that the regulation that the school board can elect the principal is a very progressive point, but it is necessary to clearly define the authority of the school board chairman with the board of directors and the governing ministry to facilitate management.

She also recommended increasing the representation of outsiders on school boards — especially leaders of employers.

However, university presidents have proposed the opposite. According to Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Van Dong - President of the University of Transport Technology, the draft law stipulates that the number of external members participating in the university council must account for at least 30% of the total number of members, which is too much. He recommends that it should only account for 20%.

Associate Professor - Dr. Nguyen Van Noi - Principal of the University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) also said that it is necessary to increase the proportion of lecturers and reduce the number of outsiders participating in the school council.

What is the role of the school board?

The role of the school board was also hotly discussed by delegates. In addition to having the right to elect and dismiss the principal, according to the draft revised Law, the school board is also allowed to participate in strategic resolutions, development planning, revenue and expenditure issues, etc.

Most opinions agree that the school board should not interfere too deeply in the school's "kitchen" matters, such as: purchasing assets, equipment, etc.

One of the two issues that the Ministry of Education and Training wants to consult on is whether the school board elects the principal and vice principals and then submits them to the Ministry of Education and Training for recognition, or submits them to the competent management agency for recognition.

There are still many controversial opinions on this issue, each person choosing a different option. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Phung - Director of the Department of Higher Education - said that in the coming time, she will continue to listen to public opinions before submitting to the Government and the National Assembly in 2018.

According to Laodong.vn