Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW creates a shift in school governance

School Board from Expectation to Reality

The school council is defined as a governance institution to exercise the right to represent school ownership, monitor operations 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 primary schools, the school council has the function of deciding on the direction of activities, mobilizing and monitoring resources, and ensuring the connection between the school and society and the community.

The council's members include representatives from many parties such as the Party Committee, trade unions, professional groups, local authorities, parents, etc. However, many localities reflect that the school council mostly operates in formality, with a vague role and overlapping with the functions of the principal or Party organization.

At the university level, the school council was expected to be the school's governance organization, exercising the ownership representative rights of the school and stakeholders, and playing a key role in formulating policies and development strategies of the school.

This model is designed to implement autonomy, separating political leadership and administrative management, helping to reduce the concentration of power in the principal.

In fact, at many public colleges and universities, the school board has become a bottleneck in governance.

Dr. Dang Nguyen Manh, Principal of Thai Binh Vocational College (Hung Yen province) said that the parallel operation of the Party Committee, the Board of Directors and the school council makes the decision-making process prolonged and even contradictory.

A strong shift in educational management

Resolution 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo has set out a specific policy: Not to organize school councils in public educational institutions (except for schools with international agreements), and at the same time implement the model of Party Committee Secretary concurrently being the head of the school.

At the university and college level, this model is considered to help shorten the decision cycle, create unity in leadership and operate more effectively.

Dr. Dang Nguyen Manh commented that this is an important orientation, focusing on innovation in management thinking and improving the effectiveness of direct leadership of Party organizations.

In the context of the political system moving towards streamlining and effectiveness, not organizing school councils in educational institutions, including vocational education institutions, helps to centralize authority and responsibility, shorten the decision-making process, create flexibility in strategic planning, human resources and financial management, and at the same time enhance transparency and accountability.

Abolishing the school board helps save operating costs, reduce personnel pressure, and create conditions for the principal to focus on professional management. School activities are still monitored through the Party cell, parent representative committee, trade union, and other social organizations.

Dr. Manh also said that the school leadership, especially the head, needs to concretize the spirit of the Resolution with practical actions such as enhancing comprehensive autonomy; innovating management methods in a modern and creative direction; developing the teaching staff in conjunction with remuneration policies; proactively linking with businesses and social cooperation to improve training quality.

“The goal is to build an open, interconnected, and equal educational institution that meets the requirements of developing high-quality human resources to serve the country's industrialization and modernization, in line with the sustainable development orientation established by Resolution 71,” emphasized the Principal of Thai Binh Vocational College.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/nghi-quyet-so-71-nqtw-tao-buoc-chuyen-trong-quan-tri-nha-truong-post747529.html