Absolutely no negative incidents should occur during the school arrangement process.
On the afternoon of August 7th, the Provincial People's Committee held an online meeting to hear and give opinions on the plan for restructuring public preschools, primary and secondary schools, continuing education centers, and vocational education institutions.
Presiding over the conference at the main venue were Comrade Vo Trong Hai - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; members of the Provincial Party Committee: Thai Van Thanh - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Van Khoa - Director of the Department of Education and Training; and leaders of relevant departments and agencies.
At the commune/ward locations, the participants included the Chairperson of the People's Committee of the commune/ward; the Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department; and other relevant individuals.
The merger is expected to reduce the number of schools by almost half.
Report at the meeting on Overall plan for rearranging and reorganizing public educational and training institutions in the province. According to Nguyen Van Khoa, Director of the Department of Education and Training, the restructuring of the school network is being implemented by the education sector through a strict, transparent process with the participation of local authorities.
After issuing the criteria and guidelines, the Department held online meetings with 130 communes and wards, worked directly with localities that still had difficulties, and continued dialogue to finalize the plan in a spirit of consensus and practicality.
To date, Nghe An province is expected to reduce the number of public educational institutions by approximately 47%, placing it among the localities with the highest restructuring rate nationwide.
Besides the achievements, the processschool network arrangementMany issues still need to be resolved, especially the placement of management staff after the merger, as approximately 1,100 management staff will return to teaching positions.
According to the Director of the Department of Education and Training, Nguyen Van Khoa, there are still about 6 localities and schools that have not agreed with the merger plan due to concerns about practical conditions, school size, and the travel distance for students.
Furthermore, some localities have not yet agreed on the model of combined junior and senior high schools, such as in Hop Minh, Phuc Loc, Dai Dong, and Bach Ha communes. The naming of schools after mergers is also a matter of concern for many localities, especially for schools with a long tradition.
For the continuing education and vocational training system, the Department is also developing a plan to streamline operations, reducing the number of continuing education centers by approximately 52.38% and public secondary schools by 44.45%, gradually forming a model of vocational high schools to meet the requirements of human resource training in the new phase.
Regarding the reorganization and merger of schools, many communes and wards in the province have provided feedback on the plan developed by the Department of Education and Training.
The main concerns revolve around the distance between the merged schools, difficulties in management and teaching organization, and the potential impacts on 10th-grade enrollment when implementing the combined junior and senior high school model.
Some localities also proposed maintaining the previously established arrangement plan, arguing that the Department's plan was not truly suitable for the actual conditions, geographical characteristics, and scale of schools in their localities, causing difficulties in leadership, direction, and management.
Emphasize the responsibility of leaders in the implementation process.
Speaking at the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Van Thanh affirmed that the arrangement and merger of educational institutions is a major policy aimed at streamlining the apparatus, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of management, and enhancing the quality of education. All plans must aim to build better-functioning schools and create the most favorable conditions for teaching and learning.
During the project development process, Comrade Thai Van Thanh requested that localities demonstrate a proactive spirit and take direct responsibility in developing and implementing the plan.
The Department of Education and Training is responsible for providing guidance and advice on professional matters, criteria, and procedures, but it does not replace or impose its own methods on communes and wards. The selection of management staff must ensure objectivity, impartiality, and compliance with regulations; prioritizing local personnel to maintain stability, but using competence, reputation, moral character, and school management skills as decisive criteria.
Regarding the difficulties arising after the merger, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee Thai Van Thanh noted that localities need to do a good job of ideological work, harmoniously handle issues related to the placement of management staff, especially for surplus principals and vice-principals; pay attention to the feelings and honor of the staff when changing positions, and at the same time, carefully consider naming the merged schools to ensure they are appropriate to the reality and preserve traditional values.
At the same time, localities are required to adhere closely to the roadmap, finalize plans to report to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee before August 12th, and complete the organizational and personnel arrangements according to schedule; simultaneously, continue researching the model of multi-level schools, aiming to expand learning opportunities, increase the percentage of students attending high school to 90% in the coming years, and achieve universal high school education after 2030.
Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Van Thanh requested that the rearrangement and reorganization of educational institutions be implemented on schedule, ensuring that the plan is completed and submitted to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee before August 12th, and that personnel matters are finalized before September 30th.
During the implementation process, the responsibilities of each agency, unit, and locality must be clearly defined. Accordingly, the People's Committees of communes and wards are directly and comprehensively responsible to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for the results of school reorganization in their localities; the Standing Committee of the Party Committee must directly consider and select the principals on an objective and impartial basis, while proactively resolving issues related to school names, ensuring the preservation of traditions and creating consensus among the people.
The Department of Education and Training is responsible for advising and guiding the criteria, reviewing the implementation in localities; and promptly providing feedback on plans that do not meet the regulations. For multi-level ethnic boarding schools and the 21 schools in border areas, the Department needs to directly coordinate and closely supervise the personnel selection process, while also advising on organizational plans for professional activities that are streamlined and efficient.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also instructed the Department of Internal Affairs to coordinate with the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department and the Department of Education and Training to review and determine appropriate staffing levels based on practical realities; to guide the implementation of personnel work in accordance with regulations, ensuring legal compliance and minimizing complaints and lawsuits during the restructuring process.
Prevent any negative incidents from occurring during the implementation process.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Trong Hai emphasized that the arrangement of schools and the selection of management staff after the merger must be carried out in a completely objective, democratic, transparent, and proper manner; absolutely no favoritism, bias, or corruption should occur in personnel matters.
According to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, if the arrangement and placement of personnel are not properly prepared, lack objectivity, and lack strict guidance, it is very easy for complaints to arise, affecting the reputation of the Education sector. The reality in some localities such as Tuyen Quang and Quang Tri serves as a lesson that needs to be seriously learned in the implementation process.
Regarding the selection of the principal after the merger, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that the head of the school must meet criteria regarding character, competence, and reputation; possess strong professional expertise, be skilled in management, and especially be dedicated and able to create consensus among the staff and teachers. The criteria for selecting management personnel should be clearly and transparently established to avoid public controversy after the merger.
During the implementation process, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee agreed on the principle of assigning localities to preside over the review and proposal of personnel; the Department of Education and Training is responsible for advising the Provincial People's Committee based on the proposals of the localities. During this process, local Party committees and authorities, especially the members of the Standing Committee of the commune Party committee, must carefully discuss and take responsibility for their decisions. If any selection of personnel is found to be biased, parochial, or shows signs of corruption, the head of the local Party committee and authority must bear responsibility.
The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested increased decentralization and delegation of authority, coupled with regular inspection and supervision. If there are complaints or public opinions about negative practices in personnel management, the province will establish an inspection team to investigate and verify the matter; all violations will be strictly handled according to regulations.
Following the meeting, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Education and Training the responsibility of fully compiling all opinions. At the same time, they are to continue discussing and refining the plan and advising the Provincial People's Committee on issuing criteria for selecting school management staff, ensuring transparency, gaining the support of the staff and teachers, and creating stability for the education sector after the merger.
