Quang Ninh province is a pioneer in merging public schools.
According to the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province, except for Hai Hoa and Cai Chien communes, which do not have educational institutions subject to arrangement due to previously streamlined, public schools in the remaining 52 communes, wards, and special zones and public educational institutions managed by the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province must be merged.
In the commune-level sub- khoi, 520 schools at all levels were merged into 255 schools, reducing 265 schools to 51%. In the block under the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province, 15 educational institutions were reduced according to the plan of Quang Ninh province.
Thus, in the public schools managed by the commune level alone, the number of principals decreased by 265 people.
According to the representative of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province, most of the above principals are promoted to become vice principals of the merged school, while some principals have a few months left until retirement age to proactively ask for early retirement.
Meanwhile, some vice principals have gone down to become direct teachers in charge of classes.
Sharing with Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, a former principal of a secondary school in Quang Ninh said that after the arrangement, she received the decision to become a vice principal but then applied for early retirement because there were only a few months left until retirement age.
"There is not much working time left, I proactively ask for early retirement to facilitate the arrangement of staff of the school" - this former principal said.
According to Mr. Trinh Dinh Hai - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province - combined with the number of vice principals of schools before the merger, the number of vice principals of a school after the merger exceeds the regulations of a board of directors, including 1 principal and 2 vice principals.
However, this is also the common situation of most sectors and localities after the merger and the education sector will have a roadmap to resolve it.
After the merger, the learning and teaching of students and teachers will not change, but there will be surplus in job positions, such as: accounting, office, especially vice principal. However, when merging, many schools have more classes than the regulations, so the board of directors also have to work hard to manage them. If there were only 1 principal and 2 deputy principals, it would be much more difficult. In the immediate future, the number of deputy head teachers will continue to be maintained as at present and there will be gradual adjustments and personnel arrangements, as well as increasing the application of technology in management and teaching" - Mr. Hai said.
Regarding the fact that some school management officials in Quang Ninh asked the Ministry of Home Affairs about applying for early retirement under Decree 178 because changing job positions for many years will not work effectively, a representative of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh province said that the support policy under Decree 178 has stopped.
However, if cadres and teachers want to retire early, they can apply Decree No. 154/2025 on streamlining the payroll in agencies, organizations, public service units of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations from the Central to the commune level.
