No school council - strategic move to improve education management

With nearly 30 years of experience in the education sector, including 9 years in management, teacher Nguyen Tran Quang - Principal of My Due Secondary School (Cam Due commune) has had many concerns about management and leadership in practical activities.

To facilitate the implementation of professional tasks and common work, for many years now, My Due Secondary School has implemented the model of principal, party secretary and chairman of the school council. Therefore, according to teacher Nguyen Tran Quang, the abolition of the school council according to Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo is a content that is suitable to reality.

Teacher Nguyen Tran Quang, Principal of My Due Secondary School (Cam Due Commune) directs activities at a school meeting.

Mr. Nguyen Tran Quang said: “The structure of the school council usually includes representatives of local authorities, parents and students. When organizing a meeting, it is necessary to mobilize all members, while the functions of the current school council are overlapping and overlapping. Not organizing a school council will reduce meetings, cut unnecessary administrative procedures, and at the same time, when the leadership role is transferred to the Party Committee and the concurrent head, it will increase capacity, management and leadership.”

The school council is defined as a governance institution to exercise the right to represent school ownership, monitor activities and orient development strategies. At each level of education, the role of the school council is established according to its own characteristics. In public kindergartens and general schools, the school council has the function of deciding on the direction of activities, mobilizing and monitoring resources, ensuring the connection between the school and society and the community. The council's members include representatives of many parties such as the Party Committee, trade unions, professional groups, local authorities, parents, etc.

However, according to education managers, the current situation of school councils operating only in formality is happening in many educational institutions. Mr. Phan Quang Tan, Principal of Ly Tu Trong High School (Thach Ha commune) shared: “In fact, for many years now, the school council model in many general education institutions has not been able to play its real role. Activities are overlapping with the roles of the advisory council and the board of directors, which is not suitable for the management process. Decisions that need to be approved by the school council must go through many intermediate stages, which are heavy on administrative procedures, sometimes leading to delays. Resolution 71 clearly states the delegation of authority to the Party Committee Secretary to concurrently hold the role of school head, which will help unify leadership and management, avoid overlapping responsibilities, improve the quality of education, and improve teachers' ethics.”

In most of the current school structures, the principal will be both the chairman of the school council and the secretary of the party cell/party committee, which leads to the school council's activities being formalistic and overlapping roles. Meanwhile, the monitoring and feedback functions are quite vague. Maintaining the school council is not only ineffective but also increases administrative procedures, causing overlap and slowing down the decision-making process.

Abolishing the school board helps streamline the apparatus, focusing more on teaching expertise and student management.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Son, Principal of Nghen High School (Can Loc Commune) stated his opinion: “ Unlike administrative agencies, schools mainly do professional work, therefore, the leader has the decisive factor. Before passing the school council meeting to decide on important strategic contents, the board of directors met to orient, then asked for opinions from the Party Committee and Party cell, and finally passed it through the entire pedagogical council. Going to the school council is almost just a procedure, a formality”.

Not only in preschool and high school levels, but in fact, in many public colleges and universities, the school council has invisibly become a bottleneck in administration. Not only is it difficult to convene all members, but making decisions also has certain difficulties.

Abolishing the school council and implementing the model of having the Party Secretary also be the head of the school is considered to help shorten the decision-making cycle, create unity in leadership and operate more effectively.

MSc. Cao Xuan Phu, Vice Principal in charge of Vietnam - Germany Technical College Ha Tinh analyzed: “ Most public educational institutions are currently not granted autonomy in finance, organization or personnel. Therefore, the activities of the school council do not have real power. Many functions and tasks of the school council are not implemented in practice, such as: planning and appointing management staff; transferring and arranging teachers, staff, investment resources for schools... Meanwhile, the parallel operation between the power institutions of the Party Committee and the school council in some situations has given rise to conflicts and disagreements, delaying the decision-making process, affecting the effectiveness of governance".

MSc. Cao Xuan Phu believes that eliminating the school council is a solution towards a modern school governance model.

Not organizing a school council means concentrating the responsibility for direction, management and operation on a single focal point, enhancing the comprehensive and direct leadership role of the Party organization and the head. This mechanism creates consistent, unified direction, a streamlined and flexible administrative apparatus. This is a necessary adjustment to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of management, while creating conditions for educational institutions to focus more on professional tasks, improve training quality and meet the requirements of innovation in the current period.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/khong-to-chuc-hoi-dong-truong-buoc-di-chien-luoc-nang-cao-quan-ly-giao-duc-post295812.html