No suspension or discipline of students according to Circular 19: How to do it right?

Circular 19/2025/TT-BGDDT of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) will take effect from October 31, 2025 (referred to as Circular 19), replacing Circular No. 08/TT on rewards and discipline for students issued in 1988. The new Circular, with its shift in focus from “punitive discipline” to “educational and rehabilitative discipline”, is a progressive orientation, in line with modern educational trends, placing students at the center of the educational process. However, there are still concerns about deterrence.

Teachers and students of Cam Ba Thuoc High School in class.

There are still concerns

Recently, serious school violence cases have occurred in Thanh Hoa province. This has raised public concern about whether Circular 19, which stipulates that the highest level of discipline for students who violate discipline is to write a self-criticism, with confirmation and commitment from the family, is enough to deter students?

In the 2024-2025 school year, Lien Loc Secondary School (Hoa Loc Commune) disciplined a student by suspending him from school for 1 week because he smoked an electronic cigarette and got into a fight. Before deciding to suspend him, the school invited his family and the Commune Police to the school to work together, agree, and ask the parents to write a commitment to cooperate with the Commune Police to educate the student during the time the student was suspended from school. After completing the disciplinary measures, the student was allowed to return to school and made significant progress.

Teacher Nguyen Van Kien, Vice Principal of Lien Loc Secondary School, said: “Previously, when students violated school rules, the school would base on the level of violation to decide on the form of discipline. When Circular 19 took effect, the school was quite worried about how to maintain strict school discipline while still implementing the regulations in Circular 19? This issue was discussed at the conference of civil servants and school officials on forms of educating bad students. It must be affirmed that Circular No. 19 marks a new step forward in educational thinking, however, for the circular to come into life, the education sector not only needs consensus from society but also requires a strong enough system of regulations and guidelines for implementation.”

Educational Discipline: Experience from Cam Ba Thuoc High School

Even before Circular 19 officially took effect, Cam Ba Thuoc High School (Thuong Xuan Commune) proactively researched, grasped the spirit and prepared implementation conditions suitable to the school's reality.

Principal of Cam Ba Thuoc High School Hoang Van Lan shared: “The new circular clearly shows the point of view: The purpose of discipline is not to punish, but to help students realize and correct their mistakes; to be respected, to start over. That is a humane direction, contributing to the formation of a safe, friendly and benevolent learning environment. However, in the practice of education at school, without specific instructions, teachers may fall into a difficult position, that is, wanting to be strict, they are afraid of being strict, wanting to be gentle, they are afraid of being lenient, many teachers form a mentality of being more afraid of making mistakes than of students, causing the effectiveness of moral education to be affected”...

To discipline students in accordance with the spirit of Circular 19 but not make them "immune", Cam Ba Thuoc High School has maintained a 5-step process for handling students who violate the law, ensuring education - fairness - recovery, including: Receiving and verifying the incident; organizing a 3-party meeting (homeroom teacher - student - parent) witnessed by the Board of Directors and the school psychology counseling team; making an individual intervention plan (IPP) such as determining the cause, goals, commitments, and supporters; implementing recovery measures such as community service in school, studying life skills, psychological counseling, participating in "correction - compensation" activities and monitoring - evaluating - recording progress, and praising students who know how to improve themselves.

When the behavior exceeds the internal educational authority, the school will follow the Coordination Regulations between Cam Ba Thuoc High School - Commune Police - Youth Union - Parents' Representative Board (signed in October 2025, before Circular 19 takes effect), and coordinate with the Commune Police to resolve the matter.

In addition, Cam Ba Thuoc High School also has specific regulations on criteria for determining specific violations in order to apply legal disciplinary measures, while ensuring the right to study and the honor of students. In particular, for students who have completed the disciplinary measures applied by the school, the school will support students in "reintegration", monitor progress, and consider rewards if there are positive changes.

In addition to disciplinary measures, Cam Ba Thuoc High School also promotes moral and lifestyle education for students according to the "four pillars" mechanism: school, family, organization and government. Each party has clear functions and tasks, implementing the spirit of Circular 19: Discipline for education - Coordination for transformation - Humanity for rehabilitation.

Appreciating the humane spirit of Circular 19, however, to effectively implement it, schools hope that the Ministry of Education and Training will soon issue a set of tools to guide recovery education (IPP template, assessment rubric, mentoring process); supplement resources for formal school psychological counseling; strengthen training in pedagogical behavioral skills, psychological counseling for teachers in disadvantaged areas; build a school safety data system for the whole province...

Article and photos: Linh Huong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/khong-dinh-chi-ky-luat-hoc-sinh-theo-thong-tu-19-nbsp-lam-sao-cho-dung-267889.htm