Vietnam: What is a private lower secondary school?

What is a private lower secondary school?

A private lower secondary school (is a lower secondary school established and operated by organizations or individuals following a business model, with the purpose of profit-making.

According to Article 4 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.

*Characteristics of a private lower secondary school:

Established by organizations or individuals: A private lower secondary school is not established by the state but by organizations or individuals who meet the legal requirements.

Operates under a business model: A private lower secondary school operates under a business model, autonomously organizing educational activities and taking responsibility for its operational outcomes.

Aiming for profit: The operational goal of a private lower secondary school is to generate profit, alongside educating students.

What is a private lower secondary school? (Image from the Internet)

What are the other councils in a private secondary school?

According to Article 12 of the lower secondary school, upper secondary school and multi-level school charter issued together with Circular 32/2020/TT-BGDDT, other councils in secondary schools are prescribed as follows:

Other councils in secondary schools

1. Emulation and reward council

The emulation and reward council shall be established at the beginning of each academic year to assist the principal with organizing emulation movements and proposing list of officials, teachers, staff and students deserving a reward. The emulation and reward council shall be established and led by the principal. Members of this council include the secretary of the Party Executive Committee, deputy principal(s), school council representative, trade union chairperson, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (if any), leader of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organization (if any), leaders of specialized teams, office team leader and homeroom teachers.

2. Discipline councils

a) The student discipline council shall be established to consider or lift disciplinary sanctions imposed upon students on a case-by-case basis. The principal has the power to issue decision on establishment of the student discipline council and lead this council. Members of the council include deputy principal(s), secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (if any), leader of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organization (if any), homeroom teacher of the misbehaving student’s class, some teachers with experience in correcting misbehaving students and head of the parent committee of the school.

b) The official, teacher and staff discipline council shall be established to consider and propose disciplinary actions against officials, teachers and staff on a case-by-case basis. Establishment, components and operation of this council are provided for by law.

3. Advisory councils:

Advisory councils shall be established by the principal for each specific task. Duties, components and period of operation of advisory councils shall be decided by the principal.

Thus, according to the regulations mentioned above, the other councils in a private secondary school are:

- Emulation and reward council;

- Discipline councils;

- Advisory councils.

What are the regulations on 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 are prescribed as follows:

* Specialized teams

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.

*Activities

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.