Circular 23/2024/TT-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training changing a number of regulations on facility standards has untied the 'knot', making it easier for schools to strive to meet standards.
Circular No. 23/2024/TT-BGDDT dated December 16, 2024, effective from January 31, 2025, amends and supplements a number of articles of the Regulations on standards for facilities of kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, high schools and multi-level general schools issued together with Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BGDDT dated May 26, 2020 of the Minister of Education and Training.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training has supplemented and flexibly adjusted standards on land area, school size and minimum facility standards, in a direction consistent with the implementation reality nationwide in general and Hai Duong in particular, creating more favorable conditions for schools in striving to meet national standards.
Before 2019, Pham Menh Kindergarten and Thai Son Kindergarten in Kinh Mon town both met national standards level I. After the merger, the school changed its name to Pham Thai Kindergarten and lost its standards due to exceeding 20 groups and classes according to Circular 13/2020/TT-BGDDT.
Teacher Nguyen Thi Soi, Principal of Pham Thai Kindergarten, said that Circular 23 stipulates that kindergartens have a maximum of 30 groups and classes. Thus, the school will be eligible for national standard school accreditation.
“We are very excited because Circular 23 has removed difficulties for the school regarding the standard of school size so that in the near future the school will be considered for recognition as meeting national standards. This continues to be a joy, creating motivation for each staff and teacher to strive to improve the quality of education of the school,” said Ms. Soi.
Similarly, in 2017, Thanh Hai Primary School (Thanh Ha) met national standards level II. However, by 2022, after re-inspection, the school lost its standards. The reason was that the school exceeded the number of classes, lacked subject rooms and minimum area/student.
Teacher Pham Ngoc Hien, Principal of Thanh Hai Primary School, said that the school currently has 1,360 students, with 40 classes, just meeting the standards of Circular 23. Regarding the standards of subject rooms, the school also does not meet the standards because it only has 3 subject rooms. However, Circular 23 allows schools to combine subject rooms. Therefore, the school is implementing the combination of information technology and science rooms. The art room will be designed in an open space. This will meet the requirements according to the regulations.
“This is the only primary school in Thanh Ha district that has not met national standards. If Circular 13 is not amended, it will be very difficult for the school to meet standards. On the other hand, if it does not meet standards, it will also affect the construction of a new model rural area in Thanh Hai commune,” said Mr. Hien.
In Hai Duong city, there are also many schools that do not meet standards due to lack of minimum average area per student.
Tran Hung Dao Secondary School has an area of nearly 3,000 m2with more than 500 students. The representative of Tran Hung Dao Secondary School said that the school has never registered for national standard accreditation due to many difficulties in facilities. The most difficult of which is the regulation of the minimum average area for a student. However, Circular 23 has adjusted the minimum average area for a student down to 6 m2then the school will pass.
The above are just 3 of many schools in Hai Duong that have not met or lost standards due to exceeding the size of the school, lacking subject rooms, lacking classrooms, not ensuring the minimum average area for a student... according to Circular 13.
According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Education and Training, the province still has about 50 kindergartens, 30 primary schools, and 21 secondary schools that have not met standards or have met standards but no longer meet the requirements by the inspection deadline. Of which, Hai Duong City has the largest number of unqualified schools in the province with 12 kindergartens, 13 primary schools, and 8 secondary schools. This is also the locality with the lowest rate of schools meeting national standards in the province.
The reason why some educational institutions have not been recognized as national standards is due to the lack of facilities, classrooms, and no solutions. Some educational institutions do not meet national standards when the time comes for re-recognition because the classrooms and facilities are lacking and degraded, and have not been invested in and built in a timely manner, while the number of students increases rapidly, especially in urban areas and industrial zones.
Consulting and resource mobilization work in some educational institutions is still limited. The merger of schools has led to the number of classes in many schools exceeding regulations...
A representative of the Hai Duong City Department of Education and Training said that some schools have limited areas and cannot expand, the number of students is increasing rapidly, and there are not enough classrooms and subject rooms. Some schools have many degraded and old buildings... Difficulties in area, campus, lack of facilities, degradation and limited funding for construction and repair are the main reasons why schools are having difficulty meeting standards.
The problems caused by not fully meeting the regulations of Circular 13 have affected the implementation of goals, plans, and progress of building national standard schools...
However, the timely issuance of Circular 23 has removed most of the difficulties for schools that do not meet the minimum average area per student. This will be a favorable condition for schools to review, register for accreditation, and increase the rate of schools meeting national standards in the coming time.
Although Circular 23 will only take effect from January 31, 2025, the Department of Education and Training has promptly directed schools to review and implement registration for national standard school accreditation according to new regulations.
Mr. Do Duy Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Hai Duong, said that the issuance of Circular 23 is a timely and important solution, creating favorable conditions for Hai Duong to successfully complete the set targets on building national standard schools according to the Resolution of the 17th Hai Duong Provincial Party Congress. By the end of 2024, the rate of schools meeting national standards in the whole province will reach 85.86%, an increase of 14% compared to 2020, achieving the target set by the 17th Hai Duong Provincial Party Congress.
THE ANH