Proposal to merge small-scale, substandard kindergartens and primary schools

The Ministry of Education and Training has just sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committees of provinces and cities to solicit comments on the draft guidelines for arranging and organizing preschool, general education and continuing education facilities in accordance with two-level governments.

Creative corner of art at Song Mai Kindergarten ( Bac Giang city). Illustration photo: Danh Lam/VNA

According to the draft guidelines, the Ministry of Education and Training recommends that localities review the entire network of preschool, general education and continuing education facilities, including schools, school locations, class size, management staff, teachers and employees.

At the same time, check and evaluate the facilities of classrooms, functional rooms, dormitories, public houses, kitchen areas, restrooms, clean water systems, auxiliary works, and teaching equipment. Based on the review results, provinces and cities develop plans and projects to arrange (merge, consolidate, dissolve or establish new) educational facilities in a reasonable and effective manner, without wasting resources.

The Ministry of Education and Training proposes to prioritize inter-level primary and secondary school models in sparsely populated areas or areas with difficult travel conditions; consider merging kindergartens and merging small-scale, substandard primary schools in the same commune according to a suitable roadmap.

Reorganizing continuing education centers, vocational education centers - continuing education centers must ensure compliance with lifelong learning needs and management models at the provincial and commune levels.

Regarding the principles in arranging and reorganizing the school network in the area, the Ministry of Education and Training noted that it is important to ensure that children, students and trainees do not have access to education; ensure safety and convenience in the process of going to school for children, students and trainees; do not merge if the geographical distance between the residence and the school is too far or the traffic conditions are not suitable; have a clear roadmap, specific plan, and consult with the community and relevant parties to minimize disruption and impact on the management staff, teachers, staff, children, students and trainees.

Localities only merge schools and school sites within a commune; prioritize retaining schools with favorable conditions (facilities, traffic, concentrated population), and dissolve separate schools that do not meet standards and operate ineffectively.

During the arrangement process, it is necessary to ensure that each commune has at least one kindergarten, one primary school and one secondary school. In special cases, it is possible to organize a combined primary and secondary school, but separate areas must be arranged for each level to ensure teaching and learning conditions.

The Ministry also noted that kindergartens should not be merged with general schools; and regular education facilities should not be merged with general schools.

Localities need to prioritize budget allocation to renovate and upgrade facilities and teaching equipment at main schools (preschool, primary, secondary schools) before receiving children, pupils and students from satellite schools; develop an implementation roadmap for each specific stage (short-term, medium-term, long-term).

Along with that, arrange and organize reasonably the team of managers, teachers and staff for preschool, general education and continuing education facilities according to the job position plan; ensure balance between education levels and types of educational facilities.

Localities ensure working conditions (official housing, means of transport, information technology infrastructure) for teachers and managers after the reorganization; fully implement policies and regimes for managers, teachers, preschool, general education and continuing education staff affected by the reorganization (job transfer, retirement, downsizing, resignation...).

In particular, there are appropriate support policies for children, students, and continuing education students in especially difficult areas, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, islands, and children, students, and students with disabilities to ensure the right to access education.

The Ministry of Education and Training requests that ministries and People's Committees of provinces and cities comment on the draft contents and send them to the Ministry before September 28, 2025 to synthesize opinions and complete the guidance document.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/de-xuat-sap-nhap-cac-truong-mam-non-pho-thong-quy-mo-nho-duoi-chuan-20250924223104045.htm