Concerns about commune-level appointment of principals and vice principals

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has 168 commune-level administrative units, of which some localities have dozens of schools, but many places have only 2-3 schools. Therefore, many opinions say that how can there be enough schools for the commune-level People's Committee chairperson to appoint principals and vice principals of kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools?

Some Wards/Communes Have Nearly 30 Schools, Some Have Only 2 Schools

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City became the metropolis with the largest number of schools in the country with nearly 3,000 schools from kindergarten to high school located in the administrative area of 168 wards, communes, and special zones. Of which, there are localities with nearly 30 public schools; but there are communes and wards with less than 1/10 of the number of schools, and some levels even have no schools at all.

For example, Long Hai commune (including Long Hai town, Phuoc Tinh and Phuoc Hung communes, formerly Long Dat district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau) is the locality with the most public schools in Ho Chi Minh City today, with 29 schools from kindergarten to junior high school (8 kindergartens, 14 primary schools and 7 junior high schools).

Next is Nha Be commune (including Nha Be town, Phu Xuan commune, Phuoc Kien, Phuoc Loc, formerly belonging to Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City) with 25 schools including 9 kindergartens, 10 primary schools and 6 secondary schools.

The principal welcomes first graders to the new school year. The difference in the number of schools between wards and communes in Ho Chi Minh City makes the regulations on appointing principals and vice principals difficult.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Next is Vung Tau Ward (including Wards 1 to 5 and Thang Nhi and Thang Tam Wards of Vung Tau City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau in the past) with 24 schools, including 10 kindergartens, 8 primary schools and 6 secondary schools.

With a total of 21 schools, there are Ward Chanh Hung (including Ward Rach Ong, Ward Hung Phu, Ward 4 and part of Ward 5 of District 8, Ho Chi Minh City before) with 8 kindergartens, 8 primary schools, 5 secondary schools; An Lac commune (An Lac commune, An Lac A, Binh Tri Dong B of Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City before) with 9 kindergartens, 8 primary schools, 4 secondary schools.

Among the wards/communes with 20 or more schools, there are also Cu Chi commune (including Tan Phu Trung, Tan Thong Hoi, Phuoc Vinh An communes, formerly belonging to Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City); Dong Hung Thuan commune (including Tan Thoi Nhat, Tan Hung Thuan, Dong Hung Thuan communes, formerly belonging to District 12, Ho Chi Minh City)...

Localities with less than 10 schools at the three levels of preschool, primary and secondary education are An Phu Dong commune (formerly District 12) with 9 schools; Go Vap ward (formerly Go Vap district), Saigon ward (formerly District 1), Khanh Hoi ward (formerly District 4), Phu Thuan ward (formerly District 7) with 6 schools; Binh Co ward (formerly Tan Uyen city, Binh Duong ) or Hoa Hiep commune, Con Dao special zone (formerly Ba Ria-Vung Tau) with 5 schools; Tan Son ward (formerly Tan Binh district) with 4 schools; Tay Thanh ward (formerly Tan Phu district) with 3 schools. The commune with the fewest schools in Ho Chi Minh City today is Thanh An (formerly Can Gio district), with only 2 schools including preschool and primary school.

N MANY WARDS/COMMUNES DO NOT HAVE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

If recorded at each level of education, many wards in Ho Chi Minh City have only 1 school at each level of preschool, primary school, and secondary school. For example, at preschool level, the wards/communes with 1 preschool are Thoi Hoa, Tay Thanh, and Thanh An.

For primary school, Tru Van Tho and Long Hoa communes, Tay Thanh ward each have only one primary school.

For secondary school level, the wards of Tan Son Hoa, Tan Binh, Tay Thanh, Go Vap, Cho Quan, Phu Lam, Tan Tao, An Phu, Bich Hoa, Lai Thieu, Thuan An, Binh Co, Hoa Loi, Long Son and the communes of Thuong Tan, An Long, Bau Bang, Binh Chau, Thanh An, Con Dao special zone, each place has only 1 secondary school.

Meanwhile, Tan Son ward, Phu Thuan, Tay Nam; Thanh An commune, Phuoc Thanh, do not have secondary schools.

Principal of Tran Hung Dao Primary School, Cau Ong Lanh Ward vs students

Photo: Thuy Hang

PROPOSAL FOR THE COMMUNE CHAIRMAN TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, WITH OPINIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

At the end of July, to help localities clearly understand the regulations when operating the two-level local government organization model for the education and training sector, the Ministry of Education and Training issued a specific guidance document.

Accordingly, Clause 2, Article 6 of Circular 15 stipulates the authority to appoint, re-appoint, remove from office, dismiss... the heads and deputy heads of public educational institutions under the management authority decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level.

Thus, according to the above regulations, the authority to appoint, dismiss, transfer, and remove the heads and deputy heads of preschools, primary schools, secondary schools, and general education institutions with multiple levels of education, the highest of which is secondary school, is decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level. However, from the reality of the scale of schools and classes according to the ward and commune areas in Ho Chi Minh City as reflected, there are many shortcomings. Many principals expressed how the appointment and transfer will be carried out when there are wards/communes with dozens of schools, qualified to carry out the assignment and appointment; but there are also wards/communes with insufficient number of schools at each level, even only one school.

An official from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training also acknowledged that this regulation is a difficult point. Accordingly, Decree 142 issued by the Government in June gives the Department of Education and Training the right to recruit and appoint teachers, civil servants, and employees in public educational institutions. Meanwhile, according to the Law on Organization of Local Government (Law 72/2025), the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level is responsible for recruiting, appointing, and managing civil servants and public employees in the area.

However, the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that assigning the responsibility of appointing principals and vice principals of kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools to the commune level would cause many problems. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 168 commune-level administrative units, of which 4 units have only one primary school, and 19 places have only one secondary school.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, pointed out this fact at a consultation workshop on the content of the guidance for implementing the Law on Teachers organized by the Ministry of Education and Training in mid-July. "Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has many wards and communes with only one school at each level. A school has no place to rotate, while the regulation is to rotate management staff for one term and not to work more than two terms in one unit," Mr. Phong analyzed.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has many wards and communes with only one school at each level. One school has no place for rotation, while the regulation is to rotate management staff for one term and not to serve more than two terms in one unit.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phong, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training

At the same time, Mr. Phong added that in the early stages of implementing the two-level local government, many communes/wards in Ho Chi Minh City did not have education officials, so it was difficult to appoint and recruit teachers. Therefore, he proposed that the appointment of teachers in schools under the People's Committee at the commune level be the responsibility of the commune chairman, but must have the opinion of the Department of Education and Training. The Department can also participate in mobilizing inter-regional and inter-ward management officials.

The principal of a school in the inner city of Ho Chi Minh City commented that when there is no longer a Department of Education and Training, it is necessary to have the opinion of the education sector in assigning and appointing because the professional management agency will have an accurate assessment of the capacity and strengths of each individual for the appointed unit.

Many wards/communes in Ho Chi Minh City do not have secondary schools.

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

An official from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that in the proposed plan for operating a two-level government, the Department proposed a plan to preside over or decentralize the recruitment, use, appointment, change of professional titles, training, fostering, and evaluation of teachers, educational managers, and employees in public educational institutions according to authority and regulations... At the same time, it decided to recognize, appoint, dismiss, transfer, change job positions, reward, and discipline the heads and deputy heads of public educational institutions.

However, at present, when the Law on Teachers has not yet come into effect, it must be implemented according to the Law on Organization of Local Government. It is expected that on January 1, 2026, when the Law on Teachers officially comes into effect, the Ministry of Education and Training will make adjustments to the decentralization of appointment of management positions in educational institutions.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ban-khoan-cap-xa-bo-nhiem-hieu-truong-hieu-pho-185250804211720747.htm