Merging provinces, abolishing district levels: No impact on students.

According to the central government's plan, by July 1, 2025, local governments will be divided into two levels: provincial and grassroots, including communes, wards, and special zones (excluding towns). This will not affect the rights of students, but there are inconsistencies in the names of some schools, which need to be adjusted.

PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT AND TEACHER RECRUITMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROVINCIAL LEVEL

To ensure the smooth operation of education and training activities without affecting the rights of learners, in early April, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Official Letter No. 1581/BGDDT to the People's Committees of provinces and cities regarding ensuring the maintenance and improvement of the quality and effectiveness of public educational institutions in administrative units when implementing a two-tiered local government system.

Ninth-grade students in Ho Chi Minh City participate in a 10th-grade admissions counseling session. This year's primary and secondary school admissions process in provinces and cities is expected to be completed by June.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

The Ministry of Education and Training requests that the People's Committees of provinces and cities implement state management of education within their respective professional fields; recruitment, arrangement, assignment, secondment, and development of the teaching staff should be carried out uniformly by the provincial-level specialized agency (Department of Education and Training) throughout the province to ensure overall regulation and address local teacher shortages and surpluses.

The Ministry of Education and Training has requested that localities retain existing educational institutions and transfer the state management functions for preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools to the commune-level authorities.

Admissions and graduation exams will be completed in June.

During May and June, the district-level regulations remain in effect, therefore the assessment of primary school completion and lower secondary school graduation will be completed before June 30, 2025, thus not affecting students' rights.

Regarding the assessment of completion of the primary school program, this is carried out by the primary school or school with a primary school level, in accordance with Article 11 of the Regulations on the Assessment of Primary School Students issued with Circular 27/2020/TT-BGDĐT. Regarding the assessment of graduation from lower secondary school, this is carried out by the lower secondary school (or multi-level school with a lower secondary level). The lower secondary school graduation certificate is issued by the head of the department.

The Department of Education and Training issues the diplomas. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the graduation review process and approve the list of graduates as soon as possible. The Department of Education and Training will print the diplomas in time for the district and county education departments to complete signing and issuance before June 30, 2025, facilitating students' enrollment in high school and vocational education.

With the abolition of the district level and the merger of communes, the process of allocating enrollment areas for grades 1 and 6 will be smoother and can be completed before June 30th.

To date, provinces and cities have issued guidelines for enrollment in the first grades of general education for the 2025-2026 school year. In the context of current digital transformation, many localities are primarily implementing online enrollment registration, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This will bring many advantages to parents, students, and schools. At the same time, all enrollment information is publicly available, making the enrollment process faster, more scientific , transparent, and reducing negative phenomena.

Regarding high school admissions for the 2025-2026 school year, all provinces and cities have issued guidelines for high school admissions, with most requiring entrance exams in early June 2025.

The high school graduation exam is scheduled for June 26-27, so the organization of the exam and the delivery of papers to the grading committee will be completed in June. Grading will take place in July 2025. Therefore, this will not affect the university and college admissions of the candidates.

X. CONSIDER CHANGING SCHOOL NAMES WHEN ABOLISHING DISTRICTS, TOWNS, AND CITIES.

Currently, most schools nationwide are named after local areas or prominent figures, such as Dong Thanh Primary School ( Quang Tri ), Tran Hung Dao Primary School, and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School (Ho Chi Minh City)... These schools are not affected by the abolition of district, town, and township administrative units.

However, some schools whose names contain phrases like "town," "city," "ward," or "commune," such as Diem Dien Town Kindergarten (Thai Binh), Ward 4 Primary School, District 8 (Ho Chi Minh City), Phu Loc Town Secondary School (Hue City), Quang Tri Town High School (Quang Tri), and Phuoc Long Town High School (Binh Phuoc), are no longer appropriate and need to be renamed.

The education sector needs to proactively review the names of all educational institutions. If any unit's name is no longer appropriate, it should propose to the district and provincial People's Committees to adjust the name to ensure it is scientifically accurate, historically correct, convenient for management, and suitable for long-term digitalization.

Several options are being considered for renaming Quang Tri Town High School (Quang Tri Province) following the provincial merger.

Photo: HSA

For preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools, the Departments of Education and Training propose removing the terms "town" or "ward" from the school names, or using the names of geographical locations or prominent figures. For example, recently the People's Committee of Hai Lang District, Quang Tri Province, decided to rename Hai Lang Town Primary and Secondary School to Bui Duc Tai Primary and Secondary School, after a prominent figure of Hai Lang District.

This is an opportunity for the Departments of Education and Training to review and advise the People's Committees of districts, towns, and cities to rename some schools after geographical locations or historical figures to better educate students.

For affiliated units, naming schools after localities or prominent figures is entirely appropriate. However, some educational institutions still have inappropriate names. For example, the Provincial Continuing Education Center, the Provincial School for Children with Disabilities, and high schools whose names include the phrase "town"... Therefore, the Department of Education and Training is proactively reviewing and consulting with administrators and scientists to rename these institutions, including vocational centers and schools. The phrase "town" could be omitted. For example, Phuoc Long Town High School (Binh Phuoc) could be renamed Phuoc Long High School.

However, there are still some rather complex cases. For example, Quang Tri Town High School (Quang Tri Province), a school with a 50-year history (1975-2025), requires consideration of many historical and traditional factors. According to experts, there are three options for renaming this school. Option 1: Remove the phrase "town" and change it to "Quang Tri High School," but this name is the same as the new province's name and is therefore not acceptable. Option 2: Replace the phrase "town" with "Ancient Citadel," becoming "Quang Tri Ancient Citadel High School," but this name is the name of a special historical site and therefore cannot be used to name a school. And Option 3: Rename it "Nguyen Hoang High School," as suggested by the late Professor Phan Huy Le, former Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sap-nhap-tinh-bo-cap-huyen-khong-anh-huong-nguoi-hoc-185250422215626121.htm