Who is appointed as primary and secondary school principal when there is no longer a district level?

The Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level is the person with the authority to appoint and dismiss principals and vice principals of kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools after the two-level government model takes effect from July 1.

Executive authority transferred to commune level

In the instructions sent to the People's Committees of provinces and cities, the Ministry of Education and Training said that from July 1, after the two-level local government model is deployed nationwide, the authority to manage school-level personnel will also be adjusted accordingly.

Accordingly, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level will be the person who decides to appoint, dismiss, transfer, and remove the heads and deputy heads of preschool, primary, secondary schools , as well as general schools with the highest level being secondary school in the area.

The Chairman of the Commune People's Committee will decide to appoint, dismiss, and transfer school management staff (Illustration: Quan Do).

The legal basis of this regulation is the Law on Organization of Local Government, effective from June 16, in which Article 23 affirms that the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level has authority over officials managing public service units under the People's Committee at his/her level.

This regulation is further reinforced in Circular No. 15/2025/TT-BGDDT issued by the Ministry of Education and Training on July 24, stating that the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level decides on the appointment, reappointment, and dismissal of heads and deputy heads of public educational institutions under their management.

Previously, according to Decree 142/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, the Director of the Department of Education and Training was still given the authority to appoint personnel to manage educational institutions. However, according to the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents 2025, in case of differences between documents, priority shall be given to the application of the document with higher legal effect, i.e. the law.

Flexible class size according to each locality

The document also mentions the flexible application of regulations on the number of students in a class according to Circular No. 20/2023/TT-BGDDT. In special cases, such as not having enough students to combine classes or exceeding the maximum number of students, the school principal is allowed to propose adjustments to the People's Committee at the commune level. The commune level will then report to the Department of Education and Training to submit to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to decide on the number of students appropriate to the local situation.

This process aims to promptly handle situations arising during the process of rearranging the school network after the district level is no longer available, while ensuring teaching quality according to regional standards.

Promoting socialization of education to reduce staffing pressure

To reduce pressure on teacher staffing in the context of restructuring the apparatus, the Ministry of Education and Training continues to promote autonomy and socialization, especially at the preschool and primary levels. Public educational institutions will implement the autonomy mechanism according to Decree 60/2021/ND-CP and Decree 111/2025/ND-CP. At the same time, the Ministry has developed a plan to amend Decision 1466/QD-TTg to update socialization criteria and standards in line with new organizational practices.

Regarding tuition policy, the Ministry of Education and Training is drafting a new decree to replace Decree 81/2021 and 97/2023, to clarify the mechanism for collecting, exempting and reducing tuition fees and determining service prices in education. The draft has been appraised by the Ministry of Justice and is expected to be submitted to the Government in July 2025.

Clarifying the tasks of professional agencies after abolishing the district level

Another new point is the Ministry of Education and Training's issuance of Circular No. 15/2025/TT-BGDDT, clearly defining the functions, tasks, and powers of the Department of Education and Training at the provincial level and the Department of Culture and Social Affairs under the People's Committee at the commune level in the field of education and training. This is an important legal basis for localities to effectively implement educational work when the district level is no longer available, ensuring stable and smooth operations in the new apparatus.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/ai-duoc-bo-nhiem-hieu-truong-cap-1-cap-2-khi-khong-con-cap-huyen-post293322.html