Reducing student discipline: Is writing a self-criticism enough of a deterrent?

Many teachers and school leaders are concerned about the new draft regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training regarding student discipline, with the highest form of discipline being written as a self-criticism.

The new draft circular will replace Circular No. 08/TT dated March 21, 1988 of the Ministryof Education guiding on rewards and student discipline. Circular 08 stipulates many measures to discipline students, from reminders to reprimands in front of the class, reprimands before the school disciplinary council, warnings in front of the whole school, suspension from school for a week and the highest is suspension from school for a year.

Circular 08 is one of the longest-lasting Circulars of the Ministry of Education and Training, having existed for 37 years and has received many recommendations for amendments to better suit new requirements.

In 2020, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 32 on the Charter of junior high schools, high schools, and multi-level general schools, which includes regulations on student discipline. Accordingly, students who violate the rules will be disciplined in the form of reminders, support, reprimands, notifications to parents, and temporary suspension from school. Circular 32 eliminates the form of disciplinary reprimand in front of the whole school. This is considered humane and appropriate, respecting human dignity and helping students avoid discrimination and inferiority in front of the collective.

According to school leaders, the new draft circular continues to remove regulations on reprimand and suspension from school, continuing to demonstrate the humane spirit in educating and disciplining students, but concerns remain about its deterrent effectiveness.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Bich Nga, Principal of Pom Lot Secondary School ( Dien Bien District, Dien Bien Province), a school is a collective of hundreds, even thousands of students. Therefore, although most of the students are very good, there will always be individual students, especially in middle and high school age, due to physiological characteristics, they have quite strong personalities.

With decades of experience in the profession and many years of management work, Ms. Nga said that with good students, sometimes for some reason they violate the rules, when asked to write a self-criticism, they will repent, admit their mistakes and make amends. “However, for problem students, this measure is probably not enough,” Ms. Nga said.

This is also the opinion of Ms. Nguyen Thi Van Hong, Principal of Chuong Duong Secondary School (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi).

“Education without discipline is the best. Everyone wants to educate with only love, but with the condition that the number of problem students is small, the number of students in the class is small so that teachers can pay attention, closely monitor, and take care of the psychology of each student,” said Ms. Hong.

Ms. Hong said that in many countries, classes have only 20-25 students, while today schools have double that number, even up to more than 50 students. Besides problem students, schools also have autistic students and hyperactive students. Therefore, if only writing a self-criticism, it will be very difficult to discipline students. At that time, not only will it not discipline problem students, but it will also affect the learning environment of other students.

The situation of students beating each other up is happening in many localities, causing outrage in society. (Photo cut from clip)

“Citizens must live and work according to the constitution and the law. Students in school must also comply with school rules and regulations that are deterrent enough so that they can become law-abiding citizens,” Ms. Hong said.

According to Ms. Hong, Circular 32 has tightened the legal framework for schools in disciplining students and the removal of warnings in front of the whole school is correct. Giving students 1 or 2 days off is not to prevent them from studying but to help them have time to reflect on their behavior, to understand that when they act wrongly, they will have to pay the price of not being able to meet their friends. Families must also be more responsible in cooperating with schools to educate students.

“If disciplinary measures are not deterrent enough, good students in school will not be protected, and teachers will not be protected because there are no tools. Classrooms cannot learn if students keep teasing their friends and teachers. Bullying is also rampant. Without a strong enough legal framework, it will be difficult to help students improve,” Ms. Hong shared.

This is also a concern of many parents, especially when recently, there have been consecutive incidents of students beating up their classmates, some even breaking their necks and requiring hospitalization. “Currently, students can be suspended from school, but school violence in many forms still occurs. As a parent, I am always worried about my child’s safety. I think that just writing a self-criticism is not enough of a deterrent against such behavior,” said Ms. Nguyen Hoai Anh (Hoang Mai district, Hanoi).

Source: VNP

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/giam-muc-ky-luat-hoc-sinh-chi-viet-kiem-diem-co-du-tinh-ran-de-20250510115758383.htm