Thai Nguyen prepares carefully for the new school year

Teaching Vietnamese to ethnic minority children before entering first grade at Song Cau Primary School. (Photo: Anh Thuy)

The heavy rain on August 21 caused the Cau River to rise, causing severe flooding at Song Cau Primary School in Bac Kan Ward. Desks, chairs, and school supplies in many classrooms were submerged in mud and soil as the start of the new school year was approaching.

As soon as the water receded, all the teachers and parents of the school rolled up their sleeves to clean up.

According to Nguyen Thi Anh Thuy, Principal of Song Cau Primary School, the school was fortunate and moved to receive support from parents, police and military forces. In addition, the school also received support from teachers from neighboring schools. Thanks to that, in just one day, the entire school was cleaned, ensuring the best conditions for the opening day of the new school year.

In the northern communes of the province, heavy rains in recent days have caused flooding and damage to a number of schools. Overcoming difficulties, local authorities and schools have proactively and promptly cleaned up and sanitized, ensuring thorough preparation for the new school year. Flooded areas, after cleaning, were carefully disinfected to ensure hygiene and safety for students.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Thai Nguyen province, after the merger, the whole province has 975 educational institutions, including: 351 kindergartens, 263 primary schools, 287 secondary schools, 51 high schools, 15 vocational education-continuing education centers, 2 continuing education centers and 6 centers to support the development of inclusive education. The total number of students in the whole province is currently more than 433,000 students.

To prepare facilities for the new school year, the Department of Education and Training directed and educational institutions proactively carried out repairs and renovations to ensure safety for teaching and learning.

In addition to investment capital from the budget, units actively mobilize legal resources from socialization to invest in facilities and equipment, contributing to improving the quality of education.

During the summer vacation, schools have proactively purchased and supplemented facilities and teaching equipment according to the budget allocated at the beginning of the year to prepare for the new school year. Schools have proactively prepared early and many schools have gathered students to prepare for teaching and learning.

Mixing solution to spray disinfectant at schools in Bac Kan ward. (Photo: Anh Thuy)

The Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Justice, the Department of Culture and Society, and the People's Council of Thai Nguyen province to organize a meeting to discuss decentralization of management in the field of education. At the same time, the Department is advising the Provincial People's Committee to delegate some state management tasks on education and training to the commune level and the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level.

Regarding the allocation of staff and contracts, according to current regulations, the Department of Education and Training allocates staff and the number of contract workers according to Decree No. 111/2022/ND-CP for affiliated units.

In 2025, before the merger, Bac Kan and Thai Nguyen provinces directed the organization of recruitment of civil servants according to the assigned payroll in 2025. Up to now, the recruitment work has been implemented as planned.

In parallel, Thai Nguyen conducts training during the summer and before the new school year. The training content focuses on key issues such as: improving management capacity, innovating primary school students' capacity assessment, implementing 2-session teaching/day, and applying artificial intelligence (AI) in management and teaching.

Training and coaching activities are prioritized for direct implementation at educational institutions in the northern communes, thereby helping to overcome initial difficulties after the merger, creating unity and synchronization throughout the sector and ensuring that all schools are ready for the 2025-2026 school year.

According to Deputy Director of Thai Nguyen Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Hung, in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning, support students in difficult circumstances, ethnic minority areas, the Department is actively advising the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the Provincial People's Council for approval of policies on rewarding students and teachers who win prizes in exams and competitions; support teaching and learning Vietnamese for ethnic minority children before entering grade 1; support lunch money for children in kindergartens; support meal money for ethnic minority boarding school students; support teaching and learning English... These policies, when approved and put into practice, will create great momentum for educational development, especially in the mountainous areas of the province.

To ensure the quality of teaching and learning, Thai Nguyen province directs the synchronous and effective implementation of the 2018 General Education Program in all grades. Innovate teaching, testing and assessment methods; organize exams and admissions seriously, safely and with quality.

The province also requires arranging and developing a reasonable network of schools and classes; expanding the system of boarding and semi-boarding schools for ethnic minorities; increasing the rate of national standard schools. Promoting digital transformation in management and teaching, especially digital report cards, digital signatures, digital learning materials, smart schools, etc.

The province is also urgently considering and resolving the arrangement of investment capital to solidify schools and classrooms, expand the system of boarding and semi-boarding schools for ethnic minorities, and supplement staff to meet the requirements. 2018 general education program requirements and organization of 2-session/day teaching.

Thai Nguyen strives to increase the rate of national standard schools to about 80% in the new school year 2025-2025; the rate of solid classrooms to over 90%; maintain universal education for 5-year-old children; increase the rate of preschool children familiar with English; implement 2-session teaching/day at all levels. The province also sets a target that by 2030, at least 8% of ethnic minority students will be able to study in boarding schools.

TUAN SON

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thai-nguyen-chuan-bi-chu-dao-cho-nam-hoc-moi-post904032.html