Efforts to overcome difficulties of commune-level education officials

Officials in charge of education in Cam My commune discuss professional work. Photo: Hai Yen

The determination to “never give up” and the spirit of self-study are easily recognizable in these civil servants.

Many difficulties

Binh Phuoc Ward is the administrative unit with the most educational facilities in the old Binh Phuoc province with 25 schools, 57 independent private preschools and 747 groups and classes with nearly 26,000 students. Compared to the previous school year, the 2025-2026 school year, Binh Phuoc Ward increased 6 private facilities, increased 24 independent preschool groups and classes with more than 1,000 students.

Ms. Tran A Nhi, an expert of the Department of Culture and Society (VH-XH) of Binh Phuoc Ward, said: “Previously, the Department of Education and Training of Dong Xoai City (old) only managed schools from kindergarten to junior high school, while private facilities were managed by the commune level. Along with that, when performing professional tasks, the Department of Education and Training always coordinated with the communes and wards to make it easier and more convenient. However, now all are assigned to one focal point, the People's Committee of the commune and ward, so the workload has multiplied. Fortunately, all three civil servants in charge of the ward's education and training sector have expertise in education and training, so they coordinate smoothly and thoroughly, completing the assigned tasks without any backlog.

Head of the Department of Culture and Social Affairs of Binh Phuoc Ward Nguyen Xuan Phuong said: The field of culture and social affairs has many tasks, especially the field of education and training in the area with many schools and students. Fortunately, the 3 civil servants in charge of this field all have many years of experience in the industry, of which 2 civil servants were former specialists of the Department of Education and Training of Dong Xoai City (old) and 1 civil servant was formerly a specialist of the Office of the Department of Education and Training of Binh Phuoc Province (old) transferred over. With many tasks, including new and unprecedented tasks, the civil servants in charge all gave correct and accurate advice, contributing to the department in completing all assigned tasks.

Similarly, Song Ray commune currently has 9 public schools (2 kindergartens, 4 primary schools, 3 secondary schools). The advantage of the commune is that the civil servant in charge of education is a person in the education and training sector. This civil servant has a basic background, understands educational institutions, and grasps professional work in the sector to have a basis for communication with the facilities.

In 2024, Ms. Vu Thi Minh Dao started working at the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Cuu district (old) as an accountant. After the reorganization of administrative units, Ms. Dao was assigned to Tan An commune and was in charge of the commune's education sector, concurrently accounting for the Department of Culture and Social Affairs of Tan An commune.

Although she used to work at the Department of Education and Training, her area of responsibility was narrow and specific in terms of finance, so Ms. Dao encountered many difficulties when approaching and carrying out new tasks at the commune level.

“Tan An commune has 7 public schools (2 kindergartens, 3 primary schools, 2 secondary schools), 1 private kindergarten and 13 independent kindergarten classes. Over the past month, I have contacted the schools directly, implementing documents related to the education sector. Thanks to my previous work at the Department of Education and Training, I am familiar with the school management staff. Therefore, the coordination work is quite favorable" - Ms. Dao shared.

Despite the advantages, there are also many difficulties. Due to not having expertise in education, Ms. Dao had to spend a lot of time researching related documents, including many new circulars and decrees.

Ms. Dao confided: “I have to work and learn at the same time. Whenever there is a document such as an assessment or report, I read and study the related documents and regulations again. If I don’t understand something, I discuss it with the leaders and experts of the previous Department of Education and Training. There are new regulations that even the experts in charge of the field have not had time to update. Therefore, I have to “do it myself” mainly.”

The spirit of "never give up"

The Department of Culture and Social Affairs of Da Kia commune has 10 officers and civil servants, of which 1 civil servant is in charge of the field of education and training and also processes documents.

Head of the Department of Culture and Social Affairs of Da Kia Commune, Pham Van Thuc, said: The civil servant in charge of the education and training sector of the commune graduated from public administration, so he has some understanding of the education sector, but it is very difficult to handle the large amount of work. Therefore, the solution of the Commune People's Committee is to ask for support from the principals of the two schools in the commune.

A commune-level education official said: The biggest concern now is that the policies for education officials are not commensurate with the work. Compared to managers and teachers at schools who receive preferential allowances and seniority allowances, commune-level education officials do more work but do not enjoy these preferential mechanisms.

To meet the demands of work, Ms. Vu Thi Minh Dao starts work at 6am every day, and sometimes she gets home at 7:30pm, and most of the time she gets home later. The agency leaders know about her difficulties and efforts, so if there is anything she has not done well, the commune leaders and department leaders will give her dedicated guidance to help her improve. Colleagues in the Department of Culture and Social Affairs also encourage each other to try to overcome this difficult period.

“In my place, there are also people who quit. When one person is missing, it means the workload for those who stay will be greater, but I will try my best,” said Ms. Dao.

Ms. Le Thi Hong Nhung used to be the principal of a junior high school in Tan Phu district (old), then became a specialist in charge of junior high school education at the district's Department of Education and Training. Up to now, she has been assigned to the Department of Culture and Social Affairs of Phu Lam commune and is a civil servant in charge of the education sector.

Compared to many education officials of other communes and wards, Ms. Nhung has more advantages because she has a long working history in the industry, understands the professional regulations in her field of responsibility, and has close connections with the school boards in the area... Therefore, she has adapted to the new job quite quickly. However, to meet the job requirements, she has to self-study and equip herself with knowledge every day.

Ms. Nhung shared: “We must learn from superior managers; learn from managers and teachers of schools; learn from circulars, decrees and learn from actual work. Up to now, I have not remembered all the tasks I am responsible for. Now, I just have to learn and solve them as they come up. There are some documents that I have to study for several days to process. At this time, we need to work together to overcome difficulties to do the best job assigned to us.”

Hai Yen - Vu Thuyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/giao-duc/202508/no-luc-vuot-kho-cua-cong-chuc-giao-duc-cap-xa-a6929d4/