Do principals and vice principals get summer vacation?

In a little over a month, the 2024-2025 school year will end. Teachers are entitled to summer vacation as per regulations, so do principals and vice principals of high schools and university preparatory schools get summer vacation?

In March 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 05/2025/TT-BGDDT (referred to as Circular 05) regulating the working regime for general education and pre-university teachers, with additional regulations on annual leave for principals and vice principals, including summer vacation. This Circular takes effect from April 22, 2025.

The principal (right cover) of Dang Tran Con Primary School, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City welcomes first graders to school.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

The subjects of application of Circular 05 are:

• Teachers who directly teach and teachers holding management positions (including principals and vice principals) at primary schools, middle schools, high schools, multi-level general schools, ethnic boarding general schools, semi-boarding general schools for ethnic minorities, specialized schools, schools and classes for the disabled (hereinafter referred to as general schools) and university preparatory schools.
  
• Directors and deputy directors of continuingeducation centers and vocational education - continuing education centers shall apply the working regime of principals and deputy principals according to the provisions of this Circular until otherwise prescribed by competent authorities.
  
• Teachers teaching continuing education programs at continuing education centers and vocational education - continuing education centers are subject to the working regime for general education and university preparatory teachers as prescribed in this Circular until otherwise prescribed by the competent authority.

Clause 4, Article 6 of Circular 05 stipulates the annual leave of principals and vice principals. Accordingly, the annual leave of principals and vice principals includes summer vacation; holidays, Tet and other holidays as prescribed by the Labor Code and the Law on Social Insurance.

"The summer vacation of the principal and vice principal is flexibly arranged during the school year and during the summer vacation of teachers to ensure that school activities take place normally and ensure the completion of work tasks convened by management agencies at all levels (if any). The summer vacation schedule of the principal and vice principal must be reported to the competent management agency or according to decentralization," Circular 05 clearly states.

Thus, from the end of the 2024-2025 school year, principals and vice principals of high schools and university preparatory schools will have summer vacation.

Teachers are administrators, teachers, and students of Nguyen Huu Tho High School, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City on the 20th anniversary of the school's founding.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Principals and vice principals are on summer vacation, what should they pay attention to?

Informing the press about the new points on the working regime of teachers in Circular 05, the Ministry of Education and Training also said that with Circular 05, principals and vice principals are entitled to summer vacation like teachers, and this summer vacation is flexibly arranged during the school year and during the summer break. However, to ensure the normal operation of the school and avoid the situation where all managers are on vacation at the same time, the summer vacation schedule of managers must be reported to the management agency.

The principal of a primary school in Ho Chi Minh City said that in previous school years, principals and vice principals often used their annual leave as prescribed by the Labor Code to take advantage of the summer vacation. Annual leave was also taken in turns so that the school always had people working and managing.

According to this principal, in fact, during the summer vacation, the management staff has many tasks to do at school, ensuring the normal operation of the school such as admission work for the first level, performing the task of welcoming inspection and audit delegations (if any), professional training, textbook training, preparing classrooms and facilities for the new school year... Therefore, at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, this principal is also waiting for specific instructions from the management agency on summer vacation work, assigning work tasks during the summer, and complying with regulations. In particular, according to the direction of the Ministry of Education and Training, it is necessary to ensure the maintenance and improvement of the quality and efficiency of public educational institutions in administrative units when implementing the 2-level local government model in the coming time.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hieu-truong-pho-hieu-truong-co-duoc-nghi-he-185250424152948105.htm