School boards are not just 'nodding' or 'shaking their heads'

The school board's activities attract public attention. Photo taken from Tuoi Tre newspaper page published on October 10.

In recent times, the university councils of some universities have operated quite effectively, but in many schools the university councils still exist in a formal way, where members do not really contribute and cannot play a supervisory and guiding role.

Not real

The school council is the highest governing body with members representing many groups such as lecturers, administrators, students and other external components, ensuring that decisions are considered from many perspectives to help connect the school and society, meet market needs and create a democratic, multi-dimensional and fair decision-making environment instead of concentrating power in the school board as before.

A common limitation of many school boards today is the lack of meaningful participation from members, especially outsiders. Many are not knowledgeable about higher education, school culture, or do not have the time or dedication to contribute.

These people only participate to gain popularity and have enough members, and are often absent and do not give strategic opinions. Meanwhile, internal members are afraid to give opposing opinions for fear of losing the favor of the leader or affecting their personal interests.

Another limitation is that the selection of school board members is based on a proportional structure rather than on competence and experience. Some people are appointed to the school board not because they are capable of contributing to the development of the school but because they belong to the governing body or have close relationships with school leaders.

This is what causes many school boards to lose their real power and independence, because members are not capable of making strategic decisions for the school's development.

Furthermore, the authority of the university council is not really clear. Although the Law on Higher Education and guiding documents have clearly defined the role and authority of the university council, in reality, many university councils still do not have the real authority to perform their role while the board of directors and the principal still hold the main executive power.

Monitor and decide on important issues

To overcome the situation where the school council is just a formality, it is necessary to comprehensively reform the way the school council is selected and operated. First of all, the criteria for selecting members must be clear, based on capacity and experience, ensuring time and dedication, avoiding the situation of "enough structure" but lacking real contributions.

In addition, the school board must be empowered to oversee and decide on important issues such as appointing the principal, approving the budget and strategic direction, and develop an independent evaluation mechanism to ensure effective implementation. Organizing training courses on governance skills, decision-making skills and updating educational trends will help improve the capacity of members.

At the same time, it is necessary to create an open discussion environment, encourage criticism, clearly describe the roles, tasks, and responsibilities of each member, and evaluate the effectiveness of each member's participation. The selection and evaluation process of the school board should be carried out by experts and representatives of the academic community to ensure transparency and objectivity.

The school board is not just a "full plate, full bowl" but must be a real leadership body, bringing strategic value and direction to the school. To do this, there needs to be changes from the way members are selected, the operating mechanism to the way of monitoring and evaluating effectiveness.

These reforms will help the university council become a real, effective organization that contributes to the sustainable development of universities. Becoming a member of the university council who only knows how to "nod" or "shake" at meetings will make the university council lose its role and power.

Form

The lack of a clear mechanism to monitor each member's contribution leads to a situation where some people are just there to "check in" without bringing real value.

School board meetings are often more of a "form" than a substance, with issues being discussed without in-depth debate, without sufficient data or information to make decisions.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoi-dong-truong-khong-phai-chi-gat-hay-lac-20241024092109862.htm