The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training affirms: There are no 'joint courses' or 'voluntary courses'.

Representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training affirmed that there are no "joint courses" or "voluntary courses"; all activities are part of the school curriculum, ensuring educational equity.

On the afternoon of December 18th, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training (GD&ĐT) held a press conference to provide information on the collaboration in organizing educational activities at general education institutions and school lunch programs.

Linking is just a method, not an end.

In response to concerns from parents and the public recently, Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, affirmed that the highest goal of organizing educational activities is to form and develop qualities and competencies for students. The principal's responsibility is to develop the school's curriculum, not a "joint program." Joint programs, if any, are merely a method for schools to mobilize additional resources when they lack the resources to organize activities independently.

Students in Ho Chi Minh City participate in activities organized by their school teachers, free of charge.

“ Currently, there are no joint courses or voluntary courses. All are educational activities within the school curriculum, organized and managed by the principal, ensuring fair learning conditions for students ,” Mr. Minh emphasized.

According to him, the first principle is that schools must make the most of available resources, including the teaching staff (even those who haven't met the required teaching hours), facilities, functional rooms, interdisciplinary content, etc., to organize activities such as sports clubs, music clubs , scientific research, and STEM. The Department does not require schools to have partnerships in order to organize these activities.

Only when schools lack the resources to meet students' competency development needs – for example, needing native English-speaking teachers to organize English language enhancement activities – should they consider partnerships in accordance with the regulations of Decree 24/2021/ND-CP, on a voluntary, open, and transparent basis.

Students who do not register for paid activities will be assigned by the school to participate in general clubs during the same school hours.

The collaboration process, as outlined by the Department, involves the school identifying actual needs, developing a budget (number of lessons, costs, funding sources), and assessing its ability to self-finance; only if this is insufficient will it consider social mobilization.

Mr. Minh frankly admitted that, in the past, some principals had not followed the principles correctly, bringing the entire curriculum from external units into the school, lacking content evaluation and not fully disclosing the information. These are shortcomings that the Department of Education and Training has requested to be rectified.

Strict quality and financial control

Regarding professional matters, representatives from the Department of Education and Training stated that the Department has assessed the units that meet the criteria to introduce the content into schools; basic information is publicly available on the education services website. Foreign teachers are required to have work permits as per regulations to ensure legal compliance and the quality of the organization's activities.

Regarding revenue and expenditure, the Department has issued guiding documents (including Document 1888), requiring proper accounting, public disclosure of annual finances, non-cash revenue collection, and full settlement of expenses.

School principals must publicly disclose revenue collection in accordance with Circular 09, both on the school's electronic portal and at the school itself. Notably, as part of the digital transformation roadmap, the Department requires schools to publicly disclose this information on a portal connected to the Department's portal, facilitating transparent monitoring of approximately 3,500 units.

Affirming the nature of educational services, Mr. Ho Tan Minh emphasized: " Implementation within schools is not a business. The collaboration is to serve higher educational goals, not for commercial purposes ."

Regarding student placement and class organization, the Department of Education and Training requires parents to make voluntary choices, after which the school will arrange suitable classes, ensuring transportation and learning conditions for all students. For students who do not register for paid activities, the school is required to arrange free activities within the same time slot, organized by school teachers, in order to ensure learning rights and educational equity.

The Department of Education and Training is ready to form an inspection team when there is specific information about violations or shortcomings that have been pointed out and rectified in writing; in cases of serious violations, the principal will be disciplined.

Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, provided this information at a press conference on the afternoon of December 18th.

Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, stated that the general policy of the Party and the State is to comprehensively develop students to meet the requirements of integration. Schools are places that equip students with knowledge, skills, and qualities; and at the same time, supplement them with new competencies such as digital skills and information technology, based on the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training , the resolutions of the City People's Council, and the guidance of the Department.

The implementation has revealed shortcomings such as a lack of transparency on the website, incorrect procedures, and even complaints that students who did not participate were sent to the library. " Such situations cannot be allowed to happen ," Mr. Quoc emphasized, and requested that schools utilize their internal resources to organize diverse activities, ensuring that all students have suitable choices.

Notably, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has passed a resolution to support disadvantaged students with various provisions such as tuition fees, meal allowances, uniforms, etc., clearly demonstrating its determination to ensure educational equity. The Department of Education and Training has organized six rounds of school program inspections; after compiling the results, further corrective measures will be taken, successful models will be replicated, and violations will be strictly dealt with.

Nguyen Lien

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/so-gd-dt-tp-hcm-khang-dinh-khong-co-mon-lien-ket-hay-mon-tu-nguyen-ar993805.html