A circular on rewarding and disciplining students that has not been replaced for nearly 40 years is... real. That is Circular 08/1988 of the Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Education and Training) that is still applied by schools in some cases. Meanwhile, education has undergone many changes, especially in the handling of students who fight and use weapons to cause serious injuries to others; violate the dignity and body of other teachers and students... in life and in cyberspace.
In fact, over the past 40 years, the Ministry of Education and Training has issued many documents regulating rewards and discipline for students such as the Charter of junior high schools, high schools and high schools with many levels issued with Circular No. 32/2020. However, there is no document to replace or supplement the amendment of Circular 08/1988.
The Ministry of Education and Training itself also found that Circular 08/1988 has many contents that are no longer suitable to reality, so it has repeatedly drafted a circular regulating rewards and discipline for high school students to replace them.
In the drafts, the Ministry of Education and Training raised the issue of adding measures for active disciplinary education. For example, the regulation that teachers collect objective information, correctly identify the causes, nature, extent, consequences and psychological characteristics of students with disabilities to develop an educational plan for students to correct their disabilities. Teachers and schools can choose to apply some of the following measures to educate and discipline each student appropriately such as: Advice, encouragement; private criticism; coordinate with parents to jointly implement educational plans; psychological counseling for students.
For students who have shortcomings in the process of studying and practicing, violating school rules, regulations and regulations of the Education sector, depending on the nature, severity and consequences of the behavior, the school will consider implementing the above positive disciplinary measures or apply the following disciplinary measures: Reprimand; warning; temporarily suspending study in class to implement a separate education plan for violating students.
The highest form of discipline according to Circular 08 is "changing one school year", but in the new draft circular, the "changing school" has been replaced with "temporarily suspending learning in class" with a maximum reduction to two weeks for violations such as: Organized fights, using weapons to cause serious injuries to others; insulting the dignity and body of other teachers and students...
Unfortunately, after many drafts and circulars replacing Circular 08 have not been issued, creating confusion in rewarding and disciplining students, and at the same time, it can affect the goal of a more progressive and humane education.
