Flexible student streaming suitable to local practices

On the afternoon of October 22, at Group 15, National Assembly deputies from Phu Tho and Dak Lak provinces gave their opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education; the draft Law on University Education; and the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended).

Clarifying the models of "National University" and "Regional University"

After studying the Government's Proposal; the Inspection Report of the Committee on Culture and Society; the dossier of the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education ; the draft Law on Higher Education; the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended), the delegates agreed that the amendment of the 3 projects aims to promptly and fully institutionalize the Central Committee's resolutions on education.

National Assembly Delegate Tran Van Tien ( Phu Tho ) speaks. Photo: Xuan Quy

Giving specific comments on the draft Law on Higher Education (amended), National Assembly Deputy Tran Van Tien (Phu Tho) said that it is necessary to add some contents within the scope of regulation to cover the full content of the draft law. Specifically, adding the phrase "quality assessment; finance, assets". At the same time, Article 6 should be re-stated as "This Law regulates higher education activities; organization and operation of higher education institutions for quality assessment; finance, assets; powers and responsibilities of organizations and individuals participating in higher education; responsibility for state management of higher education.

In addition, the delegate suggested that the following phrases should be further explained: 1) University education institution, what kind of institution is called a university education institution; 2) What activities does a university education institution include; what is the "mission" of a university education institution; full-time lecturer; co-full-time lecturer; guest lecturer...

National Assembly Delegate Ha Anh Phuong (Phu Tho) speaks. Photo: Xuan Quy

Regarding higher education institutions and other educational institutions with higher education activities (Article 11), National Assembly Deputy Ha Anh Phuong (Phu Tho) suggested that at point c, clause 2, it is necessary to clarify the model of "National University" and "Regional University". At the same time, it is necessary to define more clearly the operating mechanism, the differences in authority, responsibilities and relationships with member schools to avoid overlap and create consistency in the system.

Regarding the transitional provisions (Article 46), according to the draft, the University Council and School Council of public educational institutions will cease operations and hand over documents within 3 months from the effective date of the law. However, delegate Ha Anh Phuong commented that this period is too short and unfeasible, which could cause disruption in the organization, affecting the appointment process, personnel, finance and teaching. Therefore, it is proposed to study extending the transitional period so that staff and lecturers can adapt in time, ensuring that the handover takes place stably and does not interrupt the operations of educational institutions.

Overview of the discussion. Photo: Xuan Quy

Need guidance on directional framework

One of the contents that delegates are particularly interested in is the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education. According to National Assembly Deputy Le Tat Hieu (Phu Tho), Clause 3, Article 9 stipulates: "The Minister of Education and Training shall specify career guidance and streaming in the field of education". In practice, the streaming of 40% of junior high school students to vocational training and 60% to continue studying at public high schools creates great pressure for the annual entrance exams to grade 10. In particular, during the implementation process, many localities encountered difficulties because the ratio was rigid, not suitable to socio-economic conditions and actual learning needs.

National Assembly Deputy Le Tat Hieu (Phu Tho) speaks. Photo: Xuan Quy

The delegates suggested that a higher percentage of students should be allowed to continue their studies in high school, creating conditions for them to be trained and develop their personalities comprehensively before the age of 18. However, it is still necessary to implement streaming but in a flexible way, based on the conditions, circumstances and specific needs of each locality.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training needs to provide guidance on the orientational streaming framework, while localities have the right to adjust the ratio in accordance with the capacity of facilities, teaching staff and orientation of local human resource development.

Agreeing that the regulation of diplomas in electronic or digital form in Clause 3, Article 1 of the draft (amended and supplemented Article 12) is very modern, consistent with the trend of digital transformation and facilitates management and verification; however, National Assembly Deputy Ha Anh Phuong suggested that there should be clear regulations on the legal value, security, anti-counterfeiting of electronic/digital diplomas and the mechanism for managing national diploma data to ensure safety and transparency such as creating electronic templates, anti-counterfeiting and linking with the national database on education for lookup.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/phan-luong-hoc-sinh-linh-hoat-phu-hop-voi-thuc-tien-dia-phuong-10392463.html