New directives on school mergers and staff reduction.

By December 31st, localities nationwide must complete the merger of schools and the reorganization of educational facilities.

In the education sector, the number of civil servants will remain stable when schools merge. Photo: Thu Hien

Complete the restructuring of public educational institutions before December 31st.

The Ministry of Education and Training issued Official Letter 7907/BGDĐT-GDPT in 2025 to implement Conclusion 221-KL/TW of the Politburo in 2025, which includes the content of finalizing the restructuring of educational institutions before December 31, 2025.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) requests that the People's Committees of provinces and cities urgently implement the following tasks:

The Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee is organizing the implementation of the Central Government's directives on the restructuring of public non-profit units in the education sector and the contents of Document 131-CV/DU of 2025 from the Party Committee of the Ministry of Education and Training. At the same time, it is implementing the professional guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training in Document 6165/BGDĐT-GDPT of 2025 on the restructuring and organization of preschool, primary, secondary, and continuing education institutions.

Review and reorganize the organizational structure and network of public educational institutions according to the guidelines and regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training to ensure efficiency, convenience in organizing teaching and learning activities, and suitability to the local situation. Accelerate the reorganization of preschools, primary schools, lower secondary schools, and multi-level schools. Focus on establishing, maintaining, and developing models of ethnic boarding schools, ethnic semi-boarding schools, and multi-level boarding schools for students in commune centers or inter-commune areas to create favorable conditions for students.

Strengthen inspection, monitoring, and supervision, and promptly direct the resolution of difficulties and obstacles to ensure the stability of teaching and learning activities during the restructuring process. Simultaneously, direct the Department of Education and Training, relevant sectors, and the People's Committees at the commune level to comprehensively evaluate each restructuring plan, thereby selecting or adjusting a suitable and feasible roadmap. Prioritize safe travel conditions, reasonable distances, and minimize costs and risks for children, students, and trainees, especially in disadvantaged areas, border regions, and islands.

Teacher training colleges will merge into teacher training universities.

Regarding the restructuring of higher education institutions, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated that, in the planning for universities and colleges, the system of teacher training colleges will soon only have 3-4 schools, and the trend is for these teacher training colleges to merge with teacher training universities. Within these teacher training universities, there will be training for preschool teachers at the college level.

"Regarding universities being able to offer associate degree programs in certain specialized, in-depth, and specialized fields to meet the country's workforce needs, I believe we need to include a principle in the law that universities should be allowed to organize associate degree programs within the university," the Minister stated.

Guidelines for streamlining staffing and personnel after the merger.

The Ministry of Interior has just issued a document guiding the proposal of staffing levels for the period 2026-2031 based on job positions. This document, along with a set of principles and guidelines, has been sent to ministries, sectors, and People's Committees of provinces and cities to serve as a basis for uniformity in developing staffing plans.

According to the new guidelines, downsizing will be implemented based on the level of organizational restructuring. At the central level, units merged in accordance with the summary of Resolution 18 must reduce their civil servant workforce by 15%, while units not merged will reduce it by 5%.

Locally, provinces that do not merge will reduce their total staff by 5%; provinces formed by merging two units must reduce by 15%; and provinces formed by merging three or more units must reduce by 20%.

For the education sector, the number of civil servants will remain stable to meet the requirements of Resolution 71 of the Politburo.

According to Lao Dong Newspaper

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/xa-hoi/202512/chi-dao-moi-ve-viec-sap-nhap-truong-hoc-tinh-gian-bien-che-cde0118/