The whole country arranges schools to be completed before August 30.
The whole country is urgently arranging the school network, with the goal of reducing about 30% of focal points and completing it before August 30, 2026.
Hanoi sets a target to streamline at least 50% of administrative management focal points, completing before August 10. Ho Chi Minh City has also established a working group to develop a pilot plan for rearranging public schools. In Bac Ninh, according to the orientation of rearranging kindergartens and general schools in 2026, Hop Thinh commune plans to reduce the number of schools from 26 to 17, i.e., reduce 9 focal points...
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien - Vice Principal of Duc Nong Ethnic Minority Boarding Primary and Secondary School (Quang Ngai) - said that the school has coordinated to go to remote villages to distribute and receive enrollment applications.
According to Ms. Lien, after the merger, facilities are concentrated at the headquarters in Ngoc Hiep village, replacing difficult satellite schools. The school has become a multi-level boarding model for border communes with about 1,680 students from grades 4 to 9, including 320 boarding students and 1,360 semi-boarding students. The model helps poor students in remote and isolated areas have stable accommodation, limit dropouts, contribute to improving people's knowledge and maintaining national defense and security in border areas.
Ms. Lien said that the biggest advantage after the merger is that the school receives a team of experienced teachers from Dak Duc Primary and Secondary School, helping professional activities to stabilize soon.However, the scale has increased to about 1,680 students while facilities are not yet complete and there is still a shortage of teachers for some subjects.
Management after the merger is a major challenge.
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh - former Director of the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Training - acknowledged that accelerating the progress of school arrangement creates opportunities to review the entire school network according to population, area, traffic and learning needs; reduce intermediate focal points, focus resources on teachers and learners. However, short time also creates great pressure. The biggest risk that Mr. Vinh is concerned about is that localities combine mechanical schools but do not have personnel plans, facilities and suitable teaching organizations. In particular, if the principal is not prepared to manage a larger school with more branches and more complex staff, the apparatus may be streamlined in form but operate ineffectively.
According to experts, the effectiveness of the merger is not only measured by the number of focal points and streamlined staff, but must be based on the quality of teaching, the effectiveness of teachers' work, the progress of students, the level of parental satisfaction and the transparent operational capacity of the school. Mr. Vinh proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training build a capacity framework for principals after the merger, and at the same time compulsory training on change management to prepare suitable personnel.
Need special policies for disadvantaged students
Prof. Dr. Duong Quy Sy - Member of the National Council for Education and Human Resource Development - emphasized the view that when implementing the arrangement and reorganization of school sites, the main ideology is not to let any children lose their learning opportunities.
According to him, the dissolution of satellite school sites should only be implemented when the main school or boarding school or semi-boarding school has been fully prepared in terms of facilities, dormitories, nutritional conditions for semi-boarding or boarding meals, school health, psychological counseling, convenient traffic connection and suitable living conditions. For children in ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands, children with disabilities, and children in particularly difficult circumstances, there should be separate support policies on scholarships, means of transportation, digital learning equipment and teacher counseling on skills and psychological support.
Reduced 5,800 public schools, streamlined thousands of principals and directors
Along with the implementation of the 2-level local government model, the education sector has merged 1,955 institutions, dissolved 1,017 institutions, established 857 new institutions and reorganized 1,518 institutions.
The number of public educational institutions decreased from 45,390 to 39,581; a decrease of 2,561 principals, directors and 1,756 vice principals, deputy directors.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the arrangement of schools and classes in some localities is still difficult due to terrain, traffic, and dispersed population; the handling of redundant facilities and land is also confusing.
