Difficulty in implementing policies

GD&TĐ - Decree 66/2025/ND-CP takes effect from May 1, 2025, aiming to improve learning and living conditions for students in ethnic minority, mountainous, and particularly disadvantaged areas.

However, the implementation in Thanh Hoa encountered many difficulties due to the lack of specific guidance from the provincial level.

Many "bottlenecks" have not been resolved

Entering the 2025-2026 school year, ethnic minority boarding and semi-boarding schools in Thanh Hoa province are under great pressure to review and compile a list of students eligible for the policy. Many "bottlenecks" have not been resolved, causing the application process to stagnate.

Notably, due to not being able to access financial support, some schools have had to prepare plans to purchase food and necessities on credit from suppliers right from the beginning of the school year, causing significant financial pressure on the schools.

According to the reflection of many principals of ethnic boarding and semi-boarding schools in Thanh Hoa, one of the biggest problems at present is that there is no specific document from the Provincial People's Committee regulating areas with complex terrain and difficult traffic. Because this is an important basis for determining students who cannot go to school and return home during the day.

Although at point b, clause 4, Article 14 of Decree 66/2025/ND-CP, this responsibility has been clearly assigned to the Provincial People's Committee; however, up to now, Thanh Hoa province has not issued any relevant guidance documents. This puts schools in a passive position when establishing the list of students eligible for the policy.

The lack of legal basis has made many schools worry that they will not be able to complete procedures for students in time. This not only affects the progress of policy implementation, but also puts students in disadvantaged areas at risk of missing out on the opportunity to benefit from support policies right from the beginning of the school year.

A principal of a boarding school in the province's border area shared: We have deployed for parents to complete the documents according to the instructions in Article 9 of the Decree. However, when it comes to verifying the location, there is no specific basis for application. There are localities only 5-6km from the school, but you have to walk over hills and steep slopes, taking hours. So is it considered "impossible to go back and forth in a day"?

Another principal frankly expressed: If the Provincial People's Committee does not soon issue a guiding document, we will have no basis to identify and make a list of students. Meanwhile, this is a very necessary and urgent policy for students in remote areas.

In addition to the difficulty in determining the location, many other problems also arise during the process of preparing documents, causing schools to be confused in handling. Specifically, students must stay at school to be identified as boarding students. So is it mandatory to have a certificate of accommodation? If so, which unit has the authority to confirm?

In case a student has a registered residence in another locality, but is living with a guardian in an eligible area, is he/she still eligible for support? Are students with permanent residence in a remote commune (7km or more from the school) but are living near the school with their parents still eligible for support?

Is a certificate required to determine the distance from home to school? If so, which unit confirms and uses manual measurement, topographic maps or electronic maps? In addition, for students who only stay at home during the rainy season, when traffic is cut off, but still go back and forth during the day, are they eligible for the policy? And if so, will the support level be calculated based on the actual time of stay or the entire school year?...

The above questions have not yet been officially answered. Meanwhile, schools are racing against time to complete their documents and ensure the progress of support for students from the beginning of the school year.

Meal of students of Muong Ly Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities (Thanh Hoa).

Urgent action is needed

Although Decree 66/2025/ND-CP has clearly defined the role of the Provincial People's Committee in issuing documents guiding the identification of difficult areas; however, up to now, many schools in Thanh Hoa are still in a state of "swimming on their own", not knowing which criteria to apply in accordance with regulations.

A leader of a boarding school for ethnic minorities in the western mountainous region of Thanh Hoa province said: “The schools are all waiting for instructions from the province. We cannot arbitrarily do things our own way because it is easy to make mistakes, lack consistency and can cause complaints, even be dealt with later.”

Meanwhile, the support policy under Decree 66/2025/ND-CP is designed very closely to the difficult reality of boarding students, including: Support for meals of nearly 1 million VND per month, support for housing, providing 15 kg of rice per month, direct support for schools such as cooking costs, medical care , electricity and water, boarding management...

However, if students cannot access the policy at the right time, especially those in remote areas where learning conditions are still lacking, it will create inequality in access to education and have long-term effects on the learning process.

Faced with this reality, many principals have frankly recommended that the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province urgently issue detailed instructions, especially criteria on areas with difficult terrain, travel distance, and conditions to determine actual boarding students.

There should be a unified set of documents for the whole province, including the form of confirmation of accommodation, distance confirmation, temporary residence verification, etc. to avoid each locality understanding and applying differently. Specific instructions on how to calculate the support time for students who only stay at school seasonally (such as the rainy season) to avoid the situation of support being cut off or applied inconsistently.

At the same time, organize professional training for school staff, especially managers and records department, to ensure consistency and compliance with regulations throughout the province.

In addition, many principals proposed that the Provincial People's Committee consider a mechanism to advance support funds based on tentative student data, in order to help schools proactively organize boarding meals and ensure essential activities for students right from the first weeks of the new school year.

Decree 66/2025/ND-CP is a major step forward in policy for education in disadvantaged areas, demonstrating the Government's deep concern for ethnic minority students in remote and mountainous areas. However, for the policy to be truly effective, the role of concretization and implementation guidance of provincial authorities is crucial.

If the current problems are not resolved soon, students who are qualified may still be left out, and schools will continue to be passive and confused in the implementation process. In fact, the lack of financial resources has forced many schools to "bear debt" from food suppliers, putting great pressure on school management.

Decree 66/2025/ND-CP is a practical and humane policy for students in disadvantaged areas. The People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province needs to soon issue specific and unified instructions for the whole province so that schools can promptly implement this Decree, avoiding disadvantages for students in disadvantaged areas.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/gap-kho-khi-thuc-hien-chinh-sach-post747681.html