Quang Ninh Department of Education and Training: School merger does not affect students' rights

Teaching two sessions a day and merging schools in Quang Ninh are being implemented on a voluntary basis, without pressure, to improve the quality of education and streamline the management apparatus.

Mr. Trinh Dinh Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province, said that according to the orientation of the 2018 general education program (Circular 32), teaching 2 sessions/day is not mandatory but is organized based on the needs of students and parents. The first session is still the main curriculum that the school must ensure completion. The second session is supplementary, develops talents and supports personalized learning.

Quang Ninh students on the opening day of the new school year

PHOTO: LA NGHI HIEU

Specifically, students who love art can join art classes, students who are passionate about physical education can choose sports classes. At the same time, the second class is also for 3 groups of subjects: students who have not met the standards and need extra tutoring; senior students who want to study beyond the standards; excellent students who need advanced training. All these activities must comply with the regulations on extra teaching and learning , do not charge fees, and do not incur additional costs for parents.

Mr. Trinh Dinh Hai also added that to organize 2 sessions/day effectively, the first requirement is that the teaching staff must be sufficient and properly allocated. In case of teacher shortage, one teacher can still manage 2-3 classes by grade group, but the principle is "if there are students, there must be a manager". Even if it is just guiding students to self-study or supporting project implementation, teacher supervision is still needed.

In addition to human resources, facilities are also a big challenge. The classroom ratio must be at least 1/1 for students to have a place to rest at noon and take breaks. In reality, many educational institutions have not met this requirement, leading to students having to rest or eat lunch in class. If organizing boarding schools, schools must ensure food safety, keep meal samples and have service staff. This requires additional staff and job positions while the education sector is already short of staff. Therefore, implementation must be flexible, depending on the conditions of each school, and especially based on the voluntary spirit of parents.

Merging schools to streamline the apparatus

Along with teaching 2 sessions/day, the Quang Ninh education sector is also implementing the merger of small schools with too few classes. The goal of the merger is to rearrange the educational facilities, not to affect the learning rights of students.

Some parents are also concerned that the school merger will lead to common uniforms, name changes... Mr. Pham Van Hung, a parent whose child is studying in Ha Long Ward, shared: "We just hope that the education sector has a clear commitment to maintain stability in the children's learning and living, so that parents can feel secure in accompanying them. The school merger will not cause parents to incur any additional costs, change teachers..."

Leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province affirmed that the school merger will not affect students and parents.

PHOTO: NH

Mr. Trinh Dinh Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh, affirmed that the merger is only to streamline the management, and will not affect the place of study or the rights of students. Students will still study at the current facilities, and teachers will still teach normally. The only difference is that the leadership will be rearranged to suit the scale. The education sector is committed to not letting students suffer; at the same time, there will be a clear and transparent roadmap. The goal of the merger is to make the school system more effective, creating conditions to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

"In fact, in many mountainous or rural areas, there are schools with only a few classes that are recognized as independent units. This model leads to cumbersome management and waste of resources. Merging educational institutions is an inevitable trend, in line with the policy of streamlining the state apparatus," the Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh cited.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/so-gd-dt-quang-ninh-sap-nhap-truong-khong-anh-huong-quyen-loi-hoc-sinh-185250910165320765.htm