Nghe An province requested to review the selection of primary school principals to lead inter-level schools after the merger, taking into consideration people in secondary schools, but the commune government currently reserves its opinion.
On September 5, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued a document requesting Huu Khuong commune to coordinate with the Department of Education and Training to review the introduction and appointment of principal of Huu Khuong Primary and Secondary Ethnic Boarding School.
The province evaluates Huu Khuong school as a unique, large-scale facility that is especially important to educational work, requiring the selection of the head to be objective and careful. The new principal needs to have enough capacity, quality and reputation to meet the requirements.
If local personnel are not guaranteed, the commune can propose people from elsewhere. At the same time, the commune needs to consider prioritizing the principal of the secondary school before merging so that the direction and professional management at the new school can be effective.
Last week, Huu Khuong Commune People's Committee announced the decision to establish a new school on the basis of merging primary and secondary schools of the same name. Mr. Le Tuyen Huan, Principal of the old primary school, was appointed to head the new school, and Mr. Nguyen Viet Thong, principal of the old Secondary School, became the vice principal.
The incident caused a stir in public opinion because the Department of Education and Training's instructions in mid-August stated that "priority should be given to the principal of a secondary school before merging". Another subsequent dispatch from the Department on school arrangements also emphasized this.
Responding to VnExpress on the morning of September 5, Mr. Lo Van Giap, Party Secretary of Huu Khuong commune, said that the commune is making a report to send to the Provincial People's Committee and the Department, still maintaining his opinion on the appointment of Mr. Le Tuyen Huan.
According to Mr. Giap, the commune relies mainly on Official Dispatch 3805 of the Provincial People's Committee, which requires consideration of standards, conditions, professional capacity, school administration... The instructions also state that if there are many qualified personnel, priority will be given to those who are assessed to have completed their tasks well or better in the last three years, have enough working time of at least 60 months, and each leader of the educational institution has achieved outstanding results.
Mr. Giap said the commune prioritizes people with experience, reputation and a history of dedication. If two people have equivalent achievements, they will choose the principal of the secondary school before the merger. But with Huu Khuong Primary and Secondary Ethnic Boarding School, the Commune Party Standing Committee evaluated Mr. Huan's achievements, experience and ability to do his job more highly.
Mr. Huan graduated from college and then went to university. He was a good teacher at the district level. Mr. Thong has a formal university degree, won the award for excellent teaching, and the second prize for electronic lesson plans, both at the provincial level.
In the last three years, both teachers had two years of good completion and one year of excellent completion. Each also has two district-level initiatives and one commune-level initiative.
However, according to Mr. Giap, Mr. Huan has 10 years of managing a boarding school, of which 7 years was the Principal at Huu Khuong Primary School. The commune believes that he has a desire to work long-term in the locality. And Mr. Nguyen Viet Thong was just appointed Principal of Huu Khuong Secondary School last school year. He once applied for a job transfer, it was approved, but it has not been implemented.
"The Department instructs to prioritize secondary school principals, but this must also be based on the overall achievements and reputation of each person," Mr. Giap stated. "After the explanation, if the province requests to re-implement the process, the commune will consider it and reach an agreement with the specialized agencies."
Huu Khuong is a highland commune on the border, 263.79 km2 wide with more than 2,900 people. This is one of 9 communes in Nghe An that is not in the process of arranging commune-level administrative units in 2025. The area is large, the population is mainly ethnic minorities, transportation conditions, food and facilities are still difficult.
The whole country has just completed arranging the public high school network, on August 30, reducing about 1/2 of the focal points, leaving about 18,500 schools. More than 32,600 principals, vice principals and 11,000 employees are subject to transfer and redeployment.
The appointment of principals and vice principals is under the authority of the locality (preschools to middle schools are in charge of the commune level, high schools are under the responsibility of the Department of Education and Training). In addition to giving priority to current principals, provinces and cities set many other requirements to choose new school heads.
