Only 5% of 52,000 secondary schools have school psychologists

Responding to questions from delegates, on the afternoon of June 19, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that from 2024, the education sector has determined that each school will have at least one position as a school psychological counselor. However, only 5% of all general schools currently have psychological counselors.

Continuing the question and answer session of the 9th Session, on the afternoon of June 19, the National Assembly questioned Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; focusing on the following contents: Current situation and solutions for developing and improving the quality of higher education associated with the requirement of creating high-quality human resources, meeting the requirements of socio-economic development. Implementation of legal regulations on extra teaching and learning. Ensuring a safe, healthy and friendly educational environment. Preventing and combating school violence. Ensuring food safety and hygiene in schools.

Raising a question, delegate Dang Thi Bao Trinh, National Assembly Delegation of Quang Nam province, said that the situation of students being affected by family circumstances, negative living environment, leading to behavioral deviations, even violations of the law, has an increasing trend. Meanwhile, the education system, the mechanism for early detection and timely support for specialized psychologists at most levels of education are not guaranteed. In this situation, what is the Minister's responsibility and solution in continuing to deploy specialized psychologists at educational institutions?

Delegate Dang Thi Bao Trinh, National Assembly Delegation of Quang Nam province, raised questions to Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son.

Responding to the delegate's question, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said: Regarding activities to support students in discovering psychological problems and crises of school age, in the modern environment, having psychological experts, student support staff, and social workers is very necessary. Realizing this importance from 2024, the education and training sector has determined that each school will have at least 1 job position as a school psychological counselor.

However, from the policy to ensuring this job position with 52,000 schools nationwide, each school must have a psychologist is a process, not a day or two.

Currently, the total number of general schools with school psychologists is 5% - a very small number compared to the total number of schools. The rest are schools that have psychological counseling teams, mainly teachers who are part-time teachers for this task.

The Ministry of Education and Training has increased training for part-time teachers in the field of school psychological counseling; at the same time, actively training teachers in this field. Currently, the training program of clinical psychology and school psychology in pedagogical and humanities schools has an enrollment scale of over 9,100 students. However, this number cannot be shouldered compared to the needs of 52,000 schools and tens of thousands of students in need of psychological counselors.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Son said that psychological counseling for students requires the sharing and participation of all teachers, and the participation of socio-political organizations and professional social organizations.

Delegates at the meeting

Child drowning in Vietnam is 8 times higher than in developed countries.

Regarding the problem of student drowning, delegate Nguyen Viet Nga, National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong province, said: the drowning situation in recent times is still a painful one. In recent years, there have been many solutions inside and outside of schools, but this situation has not changed significantly. The delegate raised questions about the Minister's instructions and solutions to reduce the rate of student deaths due to drowning in the school environment?

Responding to delegates, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said: Student drowning is a heartbreaking issue. On average, there are 600 cases of child drowning every year, 8 times higher than in developed countries.

The education and training sector and schools have implemented many solutions; but the rate of children in general education is only about 30% of children who know how to swim. The number of swimming teachers is only about 60% of sports teachers who can teach swimming. The number of schools with swimming pools is very low; many schools have pools but do not have money to operate them, and do not have instructors. Therefore, teaching swimming to students in schools is a challenge.

In 2024, the Ministry advised the Prime Minister to issue a decision on a program to enhance education and prevent drowning for students; which proposed many solutions on facilities, exploiting other facilities, using many measures; teaching safe swimming; anti-drowning skills; strengthening documents and teachers.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Son also asked parents, the community, and society to increase coordination and prevent drowning for students, especially during the summer break.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/chi-5-trong-52000-truong-pho-thong-co-nhan-vien-tu-van-tam-ly-truong-hoc-20250619161939589.htm