Improving the quality of education: View from national standard schools (Final part)

07:08, 11/08/2023

Final episode: Towards the goal of raising standards

The construction of national standard schools has achieved remarkable results, but in the general development process, the criteria for standard schools continue to change, and the requirements and needs for learning are also higher than before.

Identify barriers

A school that meets national standards is a school that meets 5 standards (school organization and management; management staff, teachers, staff and students; facilities and teaching equipment; relationships between school, family and society; educational activities and educational outcomes). These standards are gradually raised in each period and level to stratify goals and ensure the organization of comprehensive quality educational activities; creating a premise to approach the level of education and training development in countries around the world...

Students of Phan Chu Trinh Secondary School (Buon Ma Thuot City) practice chemistry experiments in the school's practice room.

National standard schools have a 5-year inspection and recognition cycle. After 5 years, they will be inspected for re-recognition (maintaining standards, raising standards) or not re-recognized. Through the review of the education sector, the construction of national standard schools is facing many difficulties and challenges from reality: degraded facilities; some criteria need to be changed and improved according to new regulations; the number of students is increasing, making it difficult to ensure the minimum ratio of school area and number of students per class; the quality of education in some schools is not maintained, improved and developed...

Through the development process, it is shown that the construction of national standard schools requires consistent and in-depth investment from both the education sector and local authorities at all levels; especially in facilities and infrastructure. In Lak district, the budget for investment in education has certain limitations, forcing the district to adjust it every year. Some schools have planned to meet standards early but have not yet met standards because they need large investments, while the limited annual budget forces the district to adjust to schools outside the plan but requiring less investment. Therefore, in recent years, although Lak district has ensured the plan to build standard schools, the shift of capital to schools outside the plan has directly affected the organization of teaching and learning in the locality, especially schools that have been "eliminated" from the plan to build standard schools passively.

In the coming time, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Party Standing Committee will continue to direct Party committees and authorities at all levels to pay attention to building facilities and schools to ensure the standard school criteria; increase the number of teachers to meet the prescribed quota; ensure 20% of the total state budget expenditure for education to contribute to improving the quality of education and training, implementing the targets of the Resolution of the 17th Provincial Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025".

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Pham Minh Tan

In Buon Ma Thuot City, although the national standard schools are about to be "covered", the assessment of standard schools in the early stages has not been carried out in accordance with regulations. These schools are currently still "weak in standards" and are at risk of "falling standards" due to degraded facilities and increasing student numbers, while the criteria for standard schools have changed to require higher standards than the old criteria; not to mention the number of schools that have not met the standards are stuck with difficult criteria. Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Buon Ma Thuot City, analyzed that the schools that have not met the standards have basically ensured the criteria on human resources, organization, education quality... but are "stuck" with the criteria on facilities and school area, so it is very difficult to meet the standards according to the roadmap without appropriate investment.

Long term solutions needed

Plan No. 741/KH-UBND dated January 22, 2021 of the Provincial People's Committee on Educational Quality Assessment and Building National Standard Schools in Dak Lak Province for the period 2021 - 2025 identifies the goal for the coming time as continuing to build national standard schools and re-accrediting schools to encourage investment in education, creating conditions for schools to continue to improve the quality of education, contributing to the successful implementation of educational innovation in the province. Schools self-assess and rely on external assessment results to determine the level of meeting educational goals, plan for quality improvement, maintain and improve the quality of educational activities of the school.

Specifically, the whole province strives to have 60% of schools meeting national standards by 2025; 100% of schools meeting standards in a 5-year cycle will be considered for re-recognition; 3-5% of schools meeting standards will be upgraded. To achieve the above goals, the province continues to strengthen communication work on educational quality assessment and building schools meeting national standards; prioritize allocating enough area to build new schools, supplementing the planning and land use plan to ensure enough land area according to national standard school standards for schools that do not have enough area; review and grant land use right certificates to 100% of schools...

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Pham Minh Tan awarded Certificates of Merit to teachers with outstanding achievements in the National High School Excellent Student Competition for the 2022-2023 school year.

On the education side, Dr. Do Tuong Hiep, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, said that in the coming time, the Department will continue to strengthen supervision, inspection, and urge schools to implement the work of building standard schools; requiring schools that have met the standards to continue to promote and maintain quality. At the same time, spreading the movement of building happy schools on the basis of national standard schools to maintain and improve standards; piloting the construction of smart lessons, smart classrooms, smart schools, etc.

Thanh Huong

Source