Schools conduct waste audits

The College of Mechanics and Irrigation (VCMI) has been a pioneer in implementing practical activities to “green” the vocational education environment, including conducting annual waste audits and introducing the Green module into teaching. These activities aim to contribute to building a generation of citizens who are aware of and take action for the environment.

Staff of the College of Mechanics and Irrigation instruct students of Hoa Binh Secondary School (Ho Nai Ward) to classify garbage. Photo: NTCC

Incorporate Green module into training program output standards

VCMI is a school that benefits from a project from the Federal Republic of Germany to support the school in developing into a high-quality green vocationaltraining and technical education center. Accordingly, the school has two green vocational training programs, including: electronics and building energy technology; heating and air conditioning technology.

Along with that, the school also received support from German experts to build a basic module called Environmental Protection and Efficient Use of Energy and Resources (referred to as the Green Module). This module has been recognized by the General Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (now the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education, Ministry of Education and Training) and recommended that vocational education institutions include it in school activities and integrate it into the training program.

The Green Module was developed by VCMI into a 36-hour curriculum, integrated into the school's vocational education activities, starting in 2017 and officially applied from 2019.

After being transferred and built, VCMI has integrated the Green module into 100% of the school's training programs. Notably, 100% of teachers are trained to be certified in the Green module, and students who study this module are also certified upon graduation.

VCMI’s efforts in implementing KTRT and the Green module not only contribute to solving the waste problem in schools, but also have profound educational significance, helping to raise awareness among cadres, teachers, employees and students about the importance of scientific and sustainable waste management. More importantly, through these activities, students are trained in a sense of responsibility towards the environment, becoming active factors in environmental protection activities.

Not only teaching directly, the school also put the Green module on the online teaching software, creating conditions for students to choose to study directly or study online, along with assessments to be granted certificates when achieving results. Although the Green module is not currently a compulsory learning content, it has been included in the output standards of training programs.

According to VCMI Vice Principal Le Minh Nguyet, in recent years, VCMI has organized many workshops and transferred the Green module to nearly 40 vocational training institutions nationwide. Most recently, VCMI transferred it to Dong Nai Medical College and received very positive feedback.

Along with that, VCMI also implemented a propaganda program on greening activities to high schools. The main content of this program includes propaganda on environmental protection issues, saving electricity, water, waste classification, waste recycling and waste management.

"This is also one of the contents of the KTRT Campaign" - Ms. Nguyet said.

Weigh, measure, count waste

The KTRT campaign is one of the activities that VCMI has been approached by German experts since 2020 and has been maintained annually until now. KTRT in schools is considered a process of "diagnosing" the current status of waste consumption and treatment, in order to assess the overall amount of waste generated as well as the effectiveness of the current waste management system. This activity helps schools identify outstanding problems in waste collection, classification and recycling, thereby proposing appropriate improvement solutions.

VCMI Vice Principal Le Minh Nguyet shared: “The KTRT program is conducted annually and usually lasts one month. During the program, lecturers, staff, and students will classify and quantify each type of waste, from which they will propose solutions to limit that source of waste.”

This activity helps lecturers, staff and students to be more aware of the impact of waste on the environment, understand the process of waste classification, recycling and treatment. Students not only acquire knowledge, but also have the opportunity to experience practice, thereby forming good habits and awareness of environmental protection.

According to Ms. Le Minh Nguyet, VCMI has compiled a set of KTRT guidelines for students to implement. KTRT activities can be implemented in high schools and will be an important factor contributing to reducing waste, especially plastic waste.

“VCMI is eager to spread all these greening activities to other schools and vocational training institutions. This demonstrates VCMI’s strong commitment to building a green and sustainable future for future generations,” Ms. Nguyet said.

Hai Yen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202507/truong-hoc-thuc-hien-kiem-toan-rac-thai-83f1707/