Fair, transparent and honest teacher recruitment

Besides the story of decentralization, public opinion is particularly interested in how to ensure "sincerity - talent - substance", so that autonomy does not become arbitrary.

In reality, many localities are facing a shortage of teachers, especially in new subjects such as: Information Technology, Music, Fine Arts or English. Many schools have to "patch up" with short-term contracts, while the recruitment process often takes a long time, even a whole year. Therefore, the proposal to give the principal the right to recruit is considered a breakthrough to increase initiative, helping schools quickly supplement human resources, meeting teaching and learning requirements.

In many developed countries such as Finland or Japan, principals have the right to recruit and evaluate teachers periodically. This is associated with a transparent control mechanism, where all records and processes are made public and monitored by an independent board. At that time, the principal is both a manager and a person directly responsible for the quality of the staff of the school he manages.

Returning to Vietnam, the draft circular of the Ministry of Education and Training clearly states: Only qualified schools are authorized to recruit. This "constraint" partly helps eliminate concerns about arbitrariness or sentimentality in selection. That said, if "rights" do not go hand in hand with "responsibilities", they can easily be abused. This concern is not without basis, because if the principal lacks courage or is influenced by personal relationships, the recruitment process may be "deformed", falling into a state of "lobbying", "favoring acquaintances", causing good people to be eliminated and weak people to be selected.

We have had a practical lesson in 2019, many contract teachers in Nghe An province reflected on the non-transparent recruitment situation, leading to prolonged complaints. Or in some provinces, the lack of high-quality teachers makes it difficult for the recruitment council to evaluate the candidates' abilities. Therefore, if the principal is empowered to recruit teachers without specific instructions, this problem may repeat itself, and will invisibly "follow the same path".

Therefore, recruitment rights need to be linked to a mechanism of periodic assessment and independent inspection. The Department of Education and Training and the Ministry of Education and Training need to have strict monitoring tools to ensure transparent and objective selection criteria, with the participation of independent experts or representatives of education unions. All recruitment results should be made public on the school and Department of Education and Training's information portal. This is the "technical barrier" to prevent abuse of power.

It is known that autonomy in education is an inevitable trend, but autonomy does not mean arbitrariness. Lessons from universities that have implemented autonomy show that where there is openness, transparency, and good accountability, there will be sustainable development. On the contrary, if it is only a formality and does not link rights with responsibilities, autonomy can easily become a burden.

Therefore, from another perspective, the assignment of recruitment authority to the principal can be considered a “test” of the school’s management capacity. A principal who is “sincerely” concerned about the quality of education and “genuinely” competent enough to identify and evaluate talented people will turn that authority into a driving force for development. If these two factors are lacking, power becomes a “double-edged sword”.

In the context of the education sector implementing Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development, the issue is not simply "whether to delegate power or not"? But to whom, under what conditions and how is it monitored? Because more than ever, quality education must be built on the foundation of fairness, transparency and integrity.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/cong-bang-minh-bach-va-liem-chinh-tuyen-dung-giao-vien-post754444.html