Prime Minister's Directive on ensuring effective tasks for the 2024-2025 school year

The Directive stated: In recent years, the Government, relevant ministries, agencies, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities have paid attention to and devoted many resources to investing in education and training. The education sector has effectively implemented the tasks assigned by the Party and the State; the quality of education and training has been improved, achieving positive and remarkable results. The teaching staff continues to be trained and fostered to improve their professional qualifications, and is recruited, gradually ensuring quantity and quality; the system of facilities and teaching equipment continues to be strengthened.

In addition to the achieved results, there are still some shortcomings that need to be overcome soon, such as: investment in education has not met the requirements of education and training innovation; there is still a surplus or shortage of teachers in some localities; there is a lack of schools and classrooms in big cities, industrial zones, densely populated areas, ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions; the rate of qualified schools and the rate of solidified schools and classrooms in some places is still low; facilities and minimum teaching equipment are not yet guaranteed.

To effectively carry out the tasks of the 2024-2025 school year with the motto: "Taking students as the center; Teachers as the driving force; School as the support; Family as the fulcrum; Society as the foundation", the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Education and Training to focus on reviewing, amending, supplementing, and perfecting mechanisms and policies to submit to competent authorities for promulgation and promulgate according to authority to create a legal corridor for further improving the quality of education and training, especially the quality of teachers at all educational and training institutions, both public and non-public.

The Ministry of Education and Training directs and guides localities to continue reviewing and arranging the network of preschool, general education, continuing education, and education for the disabled; reasonably adjusting class sizes; reducing the number of separate schools, ensuring the most favorable principles for children, students and people; in accordance with the actual conditions of the region, area and locality.

Strengthen the responsibility of state management in selecting, supplying and using local textbooks and educational materials in accordance with regulations, ensuring adequate and timely supply of textbooks for the new school year 2024 - 2025; have plans to support textbooks for policy students, poor and near-poor households, vulnerable groups, students with difficult family circumstances, students in ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands, and areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions.

Increase investment in infrastructure and equipment to implement digital transformation in education and training according to Directive No. 04/CT-TTg dated February 11, 2024 of the Prime Minister; fully and thoroughly prepare conditions for organizing the High School Graduation Exam according to the 2018 General Education Program to ensure quality, safety, seriousness, efficiency, reduce pressure, and create favorable conditions for students.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Training reviews and arranges the network of universities and colleges of education in association with improving quality; promotes university autonomy, especially financial autonomy; implements autonomy in a substantive manner associated with accountability, publicity and transparency; prepares well for university and college enrollment in 2025; increases attraction of investment resources for higher education; promotes non-profit training models at the university level; enhances the development of scientific and technological activities, innovation and creativity; promotes international cooperation. Effectively implement projects to develop high-quality human resources, especially human resources in semiconductor microchips, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Directing the strengthening of coordination between families, schools and society in educating children, pupils and students, especially in preventing school violence, preventing crimes and social evils among pupils and students, ensuring school security and safety.

The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Education and Training to continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and localities to review the number of teachers to propose to the Central Government to supplement the number of teachers in the education sector, especially preschool teachers in the 2024-2025 school year according to Decision No. 72-QD/TW dated July 18, 2022 of the Politburo; direct, inspect and urge localities to recruit teachers assigned by competent authorities and have appropriate and effective solutions to overcome the shortage of teachers, especially preschool teachers and teachers of new subjects according to the 2018 General Education Program.

Strengthen direction, inspection and examination of the implementation of policies and laws on education and training, prevent and strictly handle violations in the field of education and training.

The Ministry of Home Affairs shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training to inspect and urge localities to recruit teachers according to the assigned payroll, overcome the surplus and shortage of teachers in educational institutions, and ensure the principle of "where there are students, there must be teachers in the classroom" but must be suitable to local realities and effective in arrangement.

The Ministry of Finance balances the central budget for education and training, especially funding to support localities in implementing the Project to ensure facilities for preschool and general education programs for the 2017-2025 period, ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

The People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities continue to review, organize and arrange educational facilities, reasonably adjust class sizes, reduce remote schools, increase semi-boarding and boarding schools associated with improving the quality of education and training; form multi-level general schools suitable to local conditions, ensuring convenience, meeting the learning needs of children, students studying 2 sessions/day; reserve land for the construction of educational facilities when planning new urban areas. Focus on developing public and non-public preschools in densely populated areas and industrial parks; increase the number of semi-boarding and boarding schools, creating more favorable conditions for students and parents, especially in ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas and islands. Continue to improve the continuing education system, creating a clear change in lifelong learning, building a learning society.

Continue to develop and improve the quality of the teaching staff to meet the needs of implementing the Preschool and General Education Program. Review, arrange and regulate preschool and general education teachers among educational institutions in the area to overcome the situation of local surplus and shortage of teachers; recruit teachers according to the number of positions assigned by competent authorities. In case there are not enough teachers, arrange resources for contracts according to Decree No. 111/2022/ND-CP dated December 30, 2022 of the Government; research mechanisms and policies to attract teachers to work and stay long-term in the locality.

Prioritize investment resources for facilities and teaching equipment for preschool and general education institutions to meet the requirements of the 2018 Preschool Education Program and General Education Program. Allocate resources and effectively implement sub-projects in the national target program related to education and training; ensure regular expenditure norms according to regulations for educational institutions to carry out teaching and learning activities. Promote socialization and mobilize investment resources for education and training, ensuring fairness and equality between the public and private sectors.

Develop and implement a plan to support textbooks for policy students, poor and near-poor households, vulnerable groups, students from difficult family circumstances, students from ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions.

Strengthen direction, guidance and inspection of educational institutions in the implementation of financial revenue and expenditure management, and public disclosure of revenues at the beginning of the school year to ensure compliance with regulations.

Direct educational institutions to closely coordinate with the health sector and local authorities to fully prepare conditions to proactively prevent, combat and effectively respond to natural disasters, epidemics and food poisoning; strengthen school safety; ensure food, accommodation, living and studying conditions for children, boarding and semi-boarding students.

Strengthen the effective and stronger implementation of digital transformation in state management of education and training in the area; direct, inspect and examine the contents of state management of education and training within the scope of authority and responsibility, ensuring requirements, effectiveness and efficiency.