Surplus principals and vice principals may be transferred to commune-level education officials.
One of the key contents of the school merger is restructuring the personnel and improving the management capacity of educational institutions after arrangement.
To support localities in implementation, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has issued a Plan to promote the implementation of arranging the network of public preschool, general and continuing education institutions in the period 2026-2030.
In plan No. 1186, the Ministry of Education and Training requests localities to select a leadership and management team with sufficient capacity, qualifications and experience; promote decentralization and delegation of power associated with improving the accountability of heads.
Along with that, schools innovate management methods in the direction of strengthening the application of information technology, minimizing unnecessary administrative procedures, ensuring that the management, administration and organization of educational activities are transparent and smooth on a common digital platform.
For redundant staff after arrangement, the Ministry of Education and Training requests to develop a plan to arrange, use or resolve appropriate regimes and policies. The plans may include transferring to commune-level education officials, rotating to teachers or resolving retirement according to the regime, based on capacity, aspirations and job requirements.
At the same time, localities need to develop a roadmap to preserve regimes and allowances for management officials affected by the arrangement of the apparatus according to current regulations and specific policies of the locality.
The Ministry also requested to review and arrange sufficient staff of teachers and staff according to regulations; improve the quality of training and fostering teachers to meet new requirements; invest in building public houses to support teachers working in difficult areas.
The use of human resources is oriented towards flexibility and optimization through mobilization, transfer, assignment or arrangement of teachers to teach inter-schools between school sites, branches and educational institutions in the same area.
Shifting focus from management to school governance
Regarding the organizational model, the plan to pilot two large-scale school models from July 1, 2026.
The first model is a single-level school (or continuing education center) with branches and school sites. Each school has a principal, vice principals and a common administrative - personnel department including accountants, cashiers, and clerks. Depending on the scale of students and geographical distance, each branch can arrange a vice principal in charge to ensure the quality of education.
The second model is a large-scale multi-level general education school, which can operate at one or more locations, including a main school and branches, school sites with many levels of education. The organizational structure is similar to the first model, in which professional groups are arranged according to each level of education, branch and school site to improve the effectiveness of professional activities and teaching organization.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, pilot models must operate effectively, shift the focus from management to school governance, and strengthen the application of information technology to synchronously manage personnel, finance, assets and professional records on a centralized digital platform. The arrangement must ensure that it does not affect students' learning rights and maintain the quality of education throughout the system.
According to the direction of the Government leaders, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must urgently direct relevant agencies and units to complete the arrangement of public preschool, general and continuing education institutions in the area before August 30, 2026.
