Vietnam: Does a lower secondary school have its own seal?

Does a lower secondary school have its own seal?

According to Article 2 of the lower secondary school, upper secondary school and multi-level school charter issued together with Circular 32/2020/TT-BGDDT of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, the regulation regarding the position of secondary schools in national educational system is as follows:

Position of secondary schools in national educational system

Secondary schools are institutions providing general education in the national educational system. Each secondary school has legal status and a separate account and stamp.

Thus, according to the above regulation, secondary schools will have their own bank account and seal.

What is the structure of the specialized teams in secondary schools?

According to Article 14 of the lower secondary school, upper secondary school and multi-level school charter issued together with Circular 32/2020/TT-BGDDT:

Specialized teams

* Personnel:

Managerial officials, teachers and public employees in charge of the library and educational equipment, and officials in charge of student counseling shall form specialized teams. Each specialized team shall have a team leader and, if the team has at least 07 members, it shall have a deputy leader. Leaders and deputy leaders of specialized teams shall be appointed, managed and directed by the principal.

* Duties of a specialized team:

- Proactively formulate teaching and education plans based on subject-centered curricula and educational activities within its specialized area for each week, month, semester and academic year; cooperate with other specialized teams to develop the school’s education plan.

- Propose textbooks and publications for reference purposes to be used in the school in compliance with regulations of the Minister of Education and Training.

- Implement its education plan in accordance with the school’s education plan, which has been approved by the school council.

- Assess and rank teachers based on professional standards for general education teachers according to regulations of the Minister of Education and Training.

- Join professional training according to its own plan and the school’s plan.

- Perform other tasks assigned by the principal.

* Operations:

Specialized teams shall convene at least once every two weeks and may convene an irregular meeting when necessary or at the request of the principal. Specialized teams shall operate in accordance with democratic principles and their members shall respect, share with, learn from and support each other to improve their professional capacity.

Does a secondary school have its own seal? (Image from the Internet)

Which authority manages secondary schools?

According to Article 6 of the lower secondary school, upper secondary school and multi-level school charter issued together with Circular 32/2020/TT-BGDDT, the competence in management is prescribed as follows:

Competence in management

1. For lower secondary schools and multi-level schools the highest education level of which is lower secondary level, chairpersons of district-level People's Committees shall issue the establishment decision and district-level People's Committees shall be in charge of management.

2. For upper secondary schools and multi-level schools the highest education level of which is upper secondary level, chairpersons of provincial People's Committees shall issue the establishment decision and Departments of Education and Training shall be in charge of management. Departments of Education and Training shall cooperate with district-level People's Committees in management and organization of relevant educational activities of multi-level schools the highest education level of which is upper secondary level.

3. For special schools with their own organizational and operational regulations, competence in management shall adhere to such regulations.

Thus, according to the above regulation, secondary schools and multi-level schools with the highest level being secondary school are managed by the District People's Committee.

Is a secondary school considered "secondary level"?

According to Clause 1, Article 28 of the Education Law 2019 of Vietnam on educational levels and entry ages:

Educational levels and age groups of general education are regulated as follows:

- Primary education lasts for 05 school years, from the first to the fifth grade. The entry age for the first grade is 06;

- Lower secondary education lasts for 04 school years, from the sixth to the ninth grade. Students must complete the primary educational programme before entering the sixth grade. The entry age for the sixth grade is 11;

- Upper secondary education lasts for 03 school years, from the tenth to the twelfth grade. Students must complete the lower secondary educational programme before entering the tenth grade. The entry age for the tenth grade is 15.

According to the above regulation, it can be understood that secondary education is one of the educational levels in Vietnam, where:

Level 1 is primary education, ranging from grade 1 to grade 5.

Level 2 is secondary education, ranging from grade 6 to grade 9.

Level 3 is high school education, ranging from grade 10 to grade 12.

Therefore, THCS and "cap 2" are different terms for the same educational level in the system.

Thus, a secondary school (THCS) is indeed "cap 2" in the Vietnamese education system.