Empowering principals to hire: Need for a transparent 'barrier'

However, to avoid the risk of abuse of power, ensure fairness and maintain trust in the educational environment, the requirement for monitoring mechanisms, selection criteria and transparent processes becomes urgent.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen - teacher training expert for bilingual and international school systems in Ho Chi Minh City: Creating a proactive and creative educational environment

Delegating recruitment authority to principals of public schools is a suitable policy, aiming to strengthen the role and autonomy of members of the school board. When given recruitment authority, principals can proactively choose candidates suitable to the characteristics, development orientation and educational culture of each school.

This not only helps improve the effectiveness of human resource management but also promotes the cohesion and responsibility of teachers and staff in the school, thereby creating a more proactive, creative and flexible educational environment.

However, for this right to be truly effective, there must be clear regulations and rules on standards, processes and evaluation criteria. These criteria must be strictly established for each recruitment round such as interviews, trial lectures, professional competency tests, use of evaluation forms... to ensure the selection process is transparent, fair and objective. In addition, thorough training for the board of directors and principals is also an important factor to ensure effective recruitment.

In addition, interviewing skills, evaluating candidate capacity and deciding on task assignment need to be properly trained to help principals properly perform their roles in the recruitment process.

In fact, the assessment and delegation of authority in recruitment is not entirely unfamiliar, because principals often conduct capacity assessment and assignment of work in the process of managing the teaching staff. Therefore, basically, the delegation of authority in recruitment is not a breakthrough step but an expansion and formalization of the authority that principals have already exercised in daily professional activities.

However, the risk of abuse of power or bias in the recruitment process cannot be completely ruled out. Close personal relationships can lead to biased or potentially negative decisions. To limit this risk, candidate profiles need to be carefully checked to ensure that all criteria regarding competence, professional qualifications and ethical qualities are met.

Furthermore, the recruitment process should not be based solely on the principal’s personal decision but should involve a recruitment committee of at least three members. This committee will evaluate candidates according to unified criteria, contributing to ensuring transparency, fairness and multi-dimensionality in the decision-making process. This will help reduce the risk of bias, create effective internal control and increase the reliability of the entire recruitment process.

Mr. Le Chi Nguyen - Principal of Phan Ngoc Hien High School for the Gifted ( Ca Mau ): Standardizing principal's capacity in recruitment

Delegating the right to recruit teachers to the principal is a reasonable and necessary policy in the current context. The principal directly manages, understands the personnel needs, professional characteristics and culture of the school, so he/she has the ability to choose the most suitable teacher.

Current civil service exams only evaluate candidates at one point in time, through one test, while the teaching profession requires many other factors such as demeanor, teaching ability and pedagogical qualities... The principal is the one who sees those things most clearly.

When empowered, the principal will proactively build the team, ensure input quality and improve teaching effectiveness. Recruiting the right people with the right expertise helps the teaching staff to be stable in the long term, improve the quality of education and create a better learning environment for students.

Principals who are empowered to recruit also help schools proactively overcome the shortage of teachers, especially in specific subjects. Previously, teachers were assigned to schools, but in many cases their professional capacity did not meet the reality.

For many years, teacher recruitment has been mainly carried out by the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Education and Training, the process has gone through many intermediate levels, lasting from several months to the entire school year. This has caused many schools to encounter difficulties when they urgently need to recruit teachers, especially for specific subjects or in difficult areas. If the principal is given official recruitment authority, the personnel work will be more streamlined, the process will be shortened, more effective and practical.

The draft regulation stipulates that educational institutions are considered for recruitment if they simultaneously meet the following conditions: Having at least two teachers of the same subject who are teaching and are not under disciplinary action; having at least one main teacher who has participated in creating exam questions or grading exams for excellent teachers at school level or higher; having enough staff to establish a recruitment council; and having facilities and equipment to ensure the organization of serious and confidential exams.

Such a regulation is appropriate, because if the decentralization of recruitment is applied widely, many schools - especially in remote areas - will face difficulties in organizing recruitment due to a lack of main teachers, unsynchronized facilities and information technology systems, which can easily lead to recruitment that does not ensure quality and requirements, and even lead to negativity.

The delegation of recruitment authority to the principal also needs strict regulations, specific instructions and a clear monitoring mechanism to avoid inappropriate recruitment, each school doing it differently, the "recruitment authority" being abused or negative things arising in the evaluation and prioritization stages. Recruitment autonomy needs to go hand in hand with responsibility and transparency.

I propose that superiors develop a process to standardize the capacity of principals and recruitment councils, organize training courses on skills to assess candidate capacity and professional ethics. At the same time, it is necessary to increase publicity and transparency of recruitment information, build a feedback and monitoring mechanism, and closely coordinate between professional agencies and the Provincial Inspectorate to ensure that inspections and supervisions are carried out periodically and objectively, preventing violations early.

Mr. Nghiem Hong Trung - Principal of Quoc Oai High School (Hanoi): Meeting all recruitment requirements will limit negativity.

The right of principals to directly recruit teachers is a step forward to help schools proactively supplement staff, especially in subjects that are lacking. This policy not only reduces pressure on teachers and students but also helps schools build a stable, professional team to improve teaching quality.

The Circular clearly stipulates the authority to recruit teachers in public educational institutions, and at the same time guides the determination of qualified establishments for recruitment. Accordingly, high school principals can directly recruit teachers if they meet the requirements and are authorized by the Chairman of the Provincial or City People's Committee.

This regulation will help schools be proactive in selecting and building a team of teachers suitable to the reality. The principal directly manages, understands the human resource needs, professional characteristics and culture of each school, so he/she has the ability to choose the most suitable teachers. When empowered, the principal proactively builds the team, ensures input quality and improves teaching efficiency.

The current education civil service exams also reveal some shortcomings: They only evaluate candidates at one point in time, through the exam, while the teaching profession requires many other factors such as demeanor, teaching ability and pedagogical qualities. The principal is the one who sees those things most clearly.

If the principal were to directly recruit teachers, he would be able to choose the person who is truly suitable for his educational environment. Therefore, it is time to empower the person who sets the educational goals to be proactive in using human resources to achieve those goals.

Recruiting the right people with the right expertise helps the team to be stable in the long term, improves the quality of education and students can study in a better environment. The right to recruit helps to proactively build the team and overcome the shortage of teachers, especially in specific subjects. Previously, teachers were assigned to schools but in many cases their professional capacity did not meet the reality.

If given official recruitment authority, human resource work will be more streamlined, the process will be shorter, more effective and practical. However, that authority must be accompanied by strict regulations, specific instructions and monitoring mechanisms to avoid inappropriate recruitment. Recruitment autonomy must go hand in hand with responsibility and transparency.

The Circular also clearly stipulates the conditions for recruiting teachers such as: Having enough minimum number of people to establish a Recruitment Council according to the provisions of law; having adequate facilities and equipment to meet the requirements of recruitment content... These regulations will limit negativity in the recruitment process.

Previously, teacher recruitment was under the authority of the Department of Education and Training, but now the authority has been extended to the principal. If the principal follows the regulations and ensures publicity and transparency, the recruitment will certainly be effective. As Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong affirmed: "No matter which level or sector is assigned to recruit teachers, the ultimate goal is still to recruit enough quantity, ensure quality and fairness, publicity and transparency."

Ms. Dao Thi Dieu Linh - teacher at Ly Nhan Tong High School (Tan Minh, Ninh Binh): The independent supervisory board is very important.

Giving the principal the right to recruit teachers is an inevitable step forward, in line with the trend of autonomy in education. Empowering the head to proactively build a team, promote the school's own identity and direction is the right thing to do. However, what makes many teachers wonder is the implementation: Is the selection process really fair and transparent?

In fact, teacher recruitment is not only an administrative and personnel activity but also a measure of fairness and leadership capacity in educational management. If this stage lacks supervision or clear criteria, it is easy to create a mentality of "doubting power", creating a gap between managers and teachers. An emotional decision not only causes the type to lose opportunities, but also directly affects the collective trust and reputation of the school.

Along with the delegation of authority, the Ministry and the Department of Education and Training need to issue a unified set of criteria to evaluate incoming teachers. The criteria should include professional qualifications, pedagogical skills, the ability to apply technology, professional qualities, as well as the ability to adapt to educational innovation. Only when there is a clear framework of standards can principals have the basis to choose the right person for the right job, while avoiding the situation of recruiting based on emotions or being influenced by personal relationships.

In my opinion, the role of the independent monitoring board is very important. This board should have the participation of the Party Committee, the head of the professional group, the representative of the School Council and the representative of the parents. In addition, publicizing recruitment information is also the "key" to creating transparency. From the announcement stage, criteria, number of quotas, to the list of successful candidates - all need to be clearly announced on official information channels. When all data is transparent, the opportunity to "ask - give" or favoritism almost no longer exists.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/trao-quyen-tuyen-dung-cho-hieu-truong-can-rao-chan-minh-bach-post756965.html