What are the conditions for recognition of conformity with national standards of secondary schools in Vietnam?

What are the conditions for recognition of conformity with national standards of secondary schools in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 37 of the Regulations on education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and multilevel education institutions issued together with Circular 18/2018/TT-BGDDT of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, the recognition of conformity with national standards is stipulated as follows:

* Recognition conditions:

Condition 1: A secondary school is granted the recognition of conformity with national standards if they meet regulations laid down in point a of clause 1 of Article 34 of the Regulations on education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and multilevel education institutions issued together with Circular 18/2018/TT-BGDDT, specifically as follows:

Recognition of the accredited school

1. Conditions for recognition of the accredited school:

a) Having at least an academic course in which students have graduated the secondary education program;

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Thus, to satisfy Condition 1, the secondary school must have at least one cohort of students who have completed the secondary school program.

Condition 2: A secondary school is granted the recognition of conformity with national standards if they achieve external assessment results stating that they have conquered Level 2 or more as prescribed in clause 1 of Article 6 of the Regulations on education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and multilevel education institutions issued together with Circular 18/2018/TT-BGDDT, specifically as follows:

Secondary school assessment levels

1. Secondary schools may be assessed according to the following levels:

a) Level 1: Conformance to regulations laid down in Section 1 of Chapter II in these Regulations;

b) Level 2: Conformance to regulations laid down in Section 2 of Chapter II in these Regulations;

c) Level 3: Conformance to regulations laid down in Section 3 of Chapter II in these Regulations;

d) Level 4: Conformance to regulations laid down in Section 4 of Chapter II in these Regulations.

Therefore, under this condition, a secondary school must achieve an external evaluation result of Level 2 or higher, which includes the following standards:

Standard 1: Organization and management of the school

Standard 2: Management staff, teachers, employees, and students

Standard 3: Facilities and teaching equipment

Standard 4: Relationships between the school, family, and society

Standard 5: Educational activities and outcomes

In summary, for a secondary school to be recognized as meeting national standards, it must meet two conditions: [1] Have at least one cohort of students who have completed the secondary school program; [2] Achieve an external evaluation result of Level 2 or higher.

What are the conditions for recognition of conformity with national standards of secondary schools in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

How long is the validity of the Certificate of conformity with national standards?

According to Article 38 of the Regulations on education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and multilevel education institutions issued together with Circular 18/2018/TT-BGDDT, the certification of conformity with national standards is prescribed as follows:

Certification of conformity with national standards

1. Within 20 working days from the date of receipt of the report from the external assessment commission, the Director of the Department of Education and Training shall seek the approval decision to confer the Certificate of conformity with national standards upon the secondary school from the President of the provincial-level People’s Committee (Certificate template shown in Appendix II).

2. The Certificate of conformity with national standards is valid for a period of 05 years. Where a secondary school wishes to renew the certificate, within at least 05 months prior to the expiration of the validity period of the Certificate of conformity with national standards, they must finish the self-assessment process as prescribed in Article 23 and apply for external assessment as prescribed in Article 26 herein for the purposes of renewal of that certificate. Re-certification shall be subject to regulations laid down in Article 37 herein.

3. Re-certification results must be published on the website of the Department of Education and Training.

Thus, as per the aforementioned regulations, the certificate recognizing a secondary school as meeting national standards is valid for 05 years.

What are the steps of the process for education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for secondary schools?

Pursuant to Article 4 of the Regulations on education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and multilevel education institutions issued together with Circular 18/2018/TT-BGDDT, the process for education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for secondary schools shall be carried out by going through the following steps:

The process for education quality accreditation and recognition of conformity with national standards for secondary schools shall be carried out by going through the following steps:

1. Self-assessment.

2. External assessment.

3. Recognition that the school passes the education quality accreditation, and recognition that the school conforms to national standards.

Therefore, the national standards recognition process for secondary schools involves 3 steps: Self-assessment; External assessment; Recognition that the school passes the education quality accreditation, and recognition that the school conforms to national standards.