Expected 30% reduction in public school entities

The Ministry of Education anticipates reducing at least 30% of public school entities while establishing large-scale educational institutions and innovating governance to enhance quality.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) announced on 2/7 that it has issued guidance to 34 provinces and cities on reorganizing the network of public preschools, general education schools (grades 1-12), and continuing education institutions. This initiative aims to align with a two-tier government model.

According to the ministry, many schools are currently small and fragmented, which is not suitable for current development and population size. MOET believes there is still room for further reorganization to strongly shift from "education management" to "education development governance" and enhance quality.

During this process, MOET aims to reduce the number of existing public education institutions by at least 30%. The reorganization must suit local realities, ensuring stability and minimizing negative impacts on teaching, learning, student psychology, teachers, and parents. These efforts are expected to conclude before 30/4/2027.

MOET also emphasized innovating school governance and expanding school and class sizes to efficiently utilize facilities, staff, and investment resources. The reorganization aims to streamline entities, reduce administrative staff, and increase direct teaching staff. Additionally, the ministry is piloting a model of a main school with branches or satellite campuses and merging management entities to form large-scale educational institutions.

Other considerations include prioritizing the reorganization of schools at the same level or in close proximity. It specifically prohibits merging preschools with general education schools, general education schools with vocational and continuing education centers, or specialized schools with mainstream schools. Additionally, each commune must have at least one preschool and one general education school, ensuring access to education and preventing disadvantaged students from dropping out, with special attention given to preschool and primary student groups.

As of 30/6, 586 public schools and 709 leadership positions (principals, vice-principals) have been reduced nationwide. This streamlining applies to small, dispersed, inefficient schools and satellite campuses that do not meet minimum standards. According to MOET, the reorganization will not affect or disrupt teaching and learning activities, fundamentally maintaining the stability of the national education system.

According to statistics, at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year, there were over 15,000 preschools nationwide; approximately 12,000 primary schools, 10,700 lower secondary schools, and 2,980 upper secondary schools. The number of continuing education and vocational-continuing education centers was around 600.