School leadership
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
2.2. Selection and working conditions
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
1. Terminology
Article 56 in the 2019 Education Law defines the term Hiệu trưởng (principal) as “the person who is responsible for managing and overseeing school’s activities, appointed or recognized by the competent authority.” Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, states that “the principal of a primary school is the person responsible for the management and administration of the school's activities and educational quality.” (Clause 1, Article 11). Circular No 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT defines the principal as “the person who is responsible for organizing, managing, overseeing the school's activities, and ensuring the quality of education.” (Clause 1, Article 11).
The term “vice principal” is also used in various documents such as the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions, Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, and Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT. The Charter of Primary Schools, defines the vice-principal as “an assistant to the Principal and is responsible to the Principal; be responsible for administering the work assigned by the principal; administer the school's operations when authorized by the principal” (Clause 2, Article 11, Circular No 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT). The Charter of secondary schools, high schools and multi-level schools defines the vice-principal as “Responsible for managing and overseeing tasks assigned by the principal; overseeing the school's operations when authorized by the principal” (Clause 2, Article 11, Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT).
2. School principals
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
Competency standards and leadership frameworks and guidelines
According to article 56 in the 2019 Education Law, standards, duties and powers of principals are prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training. At the national level, the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions are outlined in Circular Number: 14/2018/TT-BGDĐT, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training. These provisions apply to the principals of primary schools, secondary schools, high school, specialized schools, boarding general schools for ethnic minorities, and semi-boarding general education schools for ethnic minorities. Additionally, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Official Dispatch No. 4529/BGDĐT-NGCBQLGD providing guidelines for the implementing Circular No. 14/2018/TT-BGDĐT.
Roles
Setting expectations/objectives: Standard 2, criterion 1 of the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions tasks principals to organize the formulation of plans, guide the implementation and supervision and evaluate the school's development plans. Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, states that the duties of the principal include “develop strategies and plans for school development; planning and organizing the implementation of teaching and educational plans; and report and evaluate the performance results before the School Council and competent authorities.”
Developing teaching and learning: Criterion 5, Standard 2 of Circular 14 outlines the principal's responsibilities in managing teaching and learning activities. At the basic level, the principal must direct the development and implementation of the school's teaching plan, innovate teaching methods, and evaluate student performance based on the curriculum's requirements for developing student competencies. At the good level, the principal should further improve management by ensuring teachers adapt their methods to accommodate students' diverse learning styles, needs, and readiness, with the goal of improving overall student outcomes. At the highest level, the principal is expected to guide and support school management staff in these areas.
Promoting collaboration: The principals of schools must create a healthy and friendly environment in the school. Building a safe, healthy, friendly school environment, and preventing and combating school violence is mentioned in Circular Number: 14/2018/TT-BGDĐT. Standard four of the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions focuses on developing relationships between school, family and society. Specifically, principals should coordinate with parents or guardians of students to program and plan for the school’s development such as through mobilizing and using resources for school development. They also ensure publicity and transparency of information through the publication of information such as news about school rules and cultural codes of conduct, exam results, the school's curriculum, and teaching plan.
Supporting staff development: The school principal is responsible for directing the construction and organization of implementation plans for regular training and retraining to develop professional capacity for teachers, staff, and school administration. According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, principals “perform the tasks of managing officers, teachers and employees in accordance with the law and the guidance of the education management agency; develop professional capacity development plans for teachers and staff; encourage and create conditions for teachers and staff to participate in educational innovation activities; evaluate and classify teachers and staff according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.”
Acting in accordance with the ethical principles of the profession: Standard 1, criterion 1 of the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions is “Professional ethics”. Principals should comply well with regulations on teacher ethics and direct the strict implementation of regulations on teacher ethics in schools. Circular 08/2023/TT-BGDĐT stipulates codes and standards of professional titles and appointment and salary classification of teaching staff in public preschool and general education institutions. Professional ethical standards are defined in Clause 1. Teachers must regularly cultivate morality; uphold their sense of responsibility; and preserve the quality, honour and prestige of teachers.
Others: School principals must be able to communicate in a foreign language and be able to use a number of common information technology tools in school administration.
2.2. Selection and working conditions
Degree requirements and prior teaching experience
According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, principals must have taught for at least 5 years (or 4 years for mountainous, island, highland, deep-lying, remote areas, ethnic minority areas, areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions). According to Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, principals at the secondary education level additionally must reach the standard level of training of teachers according to the provisions of the 2019 Law on Education for each grade level, reach the standard level of training at the highest educational level for students. Principals must meet the standards specified in the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions promulgated by the Minister of Education and Training. According to Circular 20/2023/TT-BGDĐT, principals must have a bachelor's degree in teacher training or higher for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school teachers or have a bachelor's degree in an appropriate major and have a certificate of pedagogical training. Principals must have training in school management and in improving professional capacities.
Appointment decision
According to Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, “Presidents of district-level People's Committees shall decide to appoint or recognize principals and vice-principals of junior high schools and high schools... The Provincial Director of the Department of Education and Training shall decide to appoint or recognize principals and vice principals of upper secondary schools. The process of appointment, recognition, re-appointment and dismissal of principals and vice-principals shall comply with the provisions of law. Persons competent to appoint are entitled to re-appoint or dismiss principals and vice principals of secondary schools.” According to Decree 115/2020/ND-CP, the appointment of school leaders from internal personnel involves a 5-step process.
Step 1: The meeting of leadership team (including the principal, vice-principal(s) is organized to discuss and propose the standards, conditions, and process for nominating personnel based on the appointment policy, task requirements, and personnel planning.
Step 2: An “expanded leadership team” (including leadership team, members of standing committee of school’s Communist Party cell, and all heads of subjects-based groups) meets to discuss and reach a consensus on the personnel structure, standards, conditions, and process for nominating personnel. They proceed to nominate candidates (from the personnel planning list) through a secret ballot. The candidate(s) with the highest number of votes, exceeding 50% of the total votes cast, will be selected. If no one reaches more than 50%, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will proceed to the next step.
Step 3: The leadership team reconvenes to vote on the candidate(s) through another secret ballot. Each member nominates one person for each position from the personnel introduced in Step 2. The candidate(s) who receive more than 50% of the total votes will be selected. If no one reaches over 50%, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will proceed to the next step.
Step 4: A meeting of "core leadership members" (including those who participated in Step 2, along with leaders of the school trade union, youth union, young pioneers, and vice heads of subjects-based groups) is organized to cast votes for the selected personnel from Step 3.
Step 5: The leadership team holds a final vote through a secret ballot. Each member nominates one person for each position from the personnel selected in Step 4. The candidate(s) who receive more than 50% of the total votes will be selected. In cases where two individuals receive an equal number of votes (each reaching 50%), the individual nominated by the principal will be selected.
During the appointment process, candidates submit their curriculum vitae; self-review of the last three years of service; copies of diplomas and certificates required by the criteria for appointment; and comments from their supervisors on their moral qualities, lifestyle, sense of discipline, internal solidarity, working capacity, performance of functions and tasks in the last 3 years. Additionally, candidates must hold an intermediate-level political diploma before being appointed.
Employment equity measures
Compared to other TALIS countries, a smaller proportion of principals in Viet Nam are female. One of the solutions listed in the Resolution of the 7th plenum is to survey and assess the current situation of female leaders and managers at central and local levels; formulate plans and master plans for the placement and placement of female leaders and managers in central and local state agencies on the basis of gender mainstreaming and women's advancement, in association with the process of participating in law-making and supervising the implementation of policies, legislation related to gender equality. Furthermore, the law stipulates that female civil servants and public employees, when participating in training and fostering, may bring their children under thirty-six months of age. Government's Decree No. 101/2017/ND-CP on training and fostering cadres, civil servants and public employees has separate regulations for female cadres, civil servants and public employees when participating in training and fostering, specifically: "The State shall adopt policies to support training funds, fostering female civil servants and public employees who are ethnic minorities". Decision No. 163/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the scheme on training and fostering civil servants and public employees from 2016 to 2020 stipulates "There is a mechanism to encourage female officials, ethnic minorities, and those working in deep-lying, remote areas, border areas, islands and areas meeting with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions to study and improve their working qualifications and capacity."
In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training has prioritized the advancement of women and gender equality. In 2016, the Ministry issued Decision No. 4996/QD-BGDĐT, approving a Gender Equality Action Plan for 2016-2020. The plan sets out six key goals for effective implementation, with the first being to increase the number of women in leadership and management positions within educational institutions, state education agencies, and research organizations. Despite women making up over 76% of the education sector’s workforce, not all units have female leaders.
Working conditions
According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, and Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, the term of office of the principal of an elementary school, middle school, or high school is 5 years. The principal works at a public school for no more than two consecutive terms. Teachers and school principals are paid according to their appointed professional title. The labor contract determines the principal’s salary, paid leave, working hours, and other such details. According to Clause 1 of Article 3 of the 2010 Public Employees Law, it is stipulated that a management officer is a person appointed to hold a managerial position for a definite period of time and is entitled to allowances for managerial positions.
The allowance for the position of the principal of a public school is set forth in Circular 33/2005/TT-BGDĐT. However, the National Assembly voted to approve the 2024 salary reform which will change the wage policy in July 2024. Currently (2023), Circular 10/2023/TT-BNV provides instructions on how to calculate allowances when increasing the base salary according to Decree 24/2023/ND-CP. Currently, civil servants and public employees with university degrees have a starting salary of more than 4.2 million VND/month. Salary allowance differs depending on the school level (primary, lower secondary, upper secondary) and classification (grade I, II, III). A leadership allowance was also put into place, however it was removed in Resolution 27-NQ-TW 2018.
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
Pre-service training
Article 56 in the 2019 Education Law states that “principals of schools under the national education system must be trained and fostered in school management skills and meet standards head.” Standard 1, criterion 3 of the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions calls for principals to meet standards of training qualifications and completion of professional training and retraining courses for their profession as prescribed.
Induction and in-service training
Standard 1, criterion 3 of the Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions calls for principals to plan to regularly study and foster development personal expertise and profession; timely update of industry innovation requirements professional and professional skills. According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, principals are to “participate in activities with professional groups; self-study and self-improvement to improve professional and management capacity. Attend training courses on politics, expertise and management skills; participate in teaching according to the regulations on the teaching period norms applicable to the principal.”
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
The 2019 Education Law, defines a school board as the organization that governs the school, exercising the right of ownership representative of the school and related interested parties. Members include “party secretaries, principals, President of the Trade Union, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, representative of the organization professionals, representatives of office groups, representatives of local governments, representative boards parents and student representatives for middle schools and high school.” The school board should be composed of community representatives residents, representatives of commune-level local governments, and capital contributors for construction and maintenance to suspend the operation of the school. Procedures for establishment, organizational structure, tasks and rights of the school board are established by the school’s charter.
Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, states that the tasks and powers of the public school council are: “to decide on the school's strategy, vision, plan, and development goals in each period and each school year; decide on the regulations or amend and supplement the regulations on organization and operation of the school to submit to the competent authorities for approval; decide on the policy of using the school's finances and assets; supervise the activities of the school; supervise the implementation of the school council's resolutions, the implementation of the democratic regulations in the school's activities.” The school principal is responsible for implementing the resolutions or conclusions of the school council. The minimum amount of members is 7 and the maximum is 11. The term of office is five years.
According to Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, the tasks and powers of the public school council differs slightly from the primary schools. At the middle and high school level, the council additionally “decides projects in each period and each school year; approve the school's educational plan; supervise enrollment activities and the organization and implementation of activities according to the school's educational plan; and supervise the mobilization, management and use of resources of the school in accordance with the law” alongside the same responsibilities as the public school councils for middle schools. School councils must have at minimum 7 members and a maximum of 15. The term of the school board is five years.
3.2. Middle leaders
Teachers in Viet Nam hold professional titles beginning from class three to class one. At level one, teachers have more responsibilities and are expected to hold leadership roles. For example, according to Circular 02/2021/TT-BGDĐT on standards for appointment and salary arrangement of primary school teachers, a class one primary teacher duties include: “a) Participating in editing, compiling and developing training programs and materials for primary school teachers and students or participating in the textbook selection council when selected; b) Preside over training activities and professional and thematic activities of the school or participate in the evaluation and approval of applied pedagogical scientific research projects of colleagues from district level upwards; c) Participating in external assessment teams or participating in working groups to inspect and examine the professional competence of primary school teachers at the district level or higher; and d) Participating in the judging panel of contests for excellent teachers or excellent classroom teachers or teachers who are in charge of the excellent Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers Team at district level or higher.”
Similarly, Circular 03/2021/TT-BGDDT on appointment and salary arrangement of public secondary school teachers states that class one secondary school teachers’ duties include; “a) Participate in the compilation or evaluation or selection of textbooks, local educational materials or other teaching materials and training materials for teachers; b) Working as a reporter, sharing experiences or teaching illustrations in training courses, fostering professional development for teachers from district level upwards or participating in online teaching; c) Preside over the implementation and guide colleagues in implementing innovation policies and contents of the industry; d) Participating in professional examination for teachers from district level upwards; participate in evaluating or guiding scientific and technological research products at the district level or higher; and dd) Participating in the organizing committee or the judging panel or the problem-making committee in competitions (of teachers or students) at the district level or higher (if any).”
3.3. Parents
Parent Teacher Associations are referred to in Viet Nam as “Parent Representative Committees”. Circular 55/2011/TT-BGDDT, the Parent Committee Charter, states that “a representative board of students' parents is organized in each school year, nominated by parents or guardians of students who are studying in each class or school to coordinate with each other.” The board must coordinate with the school to carry out educational activities.
Each class has a parent-representative committee consisting of 3 to 5 members. Responsibilities of the classroom parent committee include “a) Cooperating with the classroom teacher and subject teachers in organizing student education activities; b) Cooperating with the classroom teacher in preparing the contents of the parent-student meetings during the school year; and c) Participating in moral education for students; fostering and encouraging good students, helping weak students, mobilizing students who have dropped out to return to continue studying; help poor students, students with disabilities and students with other difficult circumstances.”
The school parent committee members then make up the school’s parent representative committee consisting of the head, deputy heads and permanent members. Responsibilities of the school’s parent committee include, “a) Coordinate with the Principal in organizing the implementation of the school year's tasks and educational activities according to the content agreed at the first meeting of the school year of the Board of Representatives of the School's parents; b) Cooperate with the principal in guiding, propagating and disseminating laws, guidelines and policies on education towards students' parents in order to raise the responsibility of caring, protecting and educating students; c) Coordinating with the principal in organizing the education of weak conduct students to continue practicing during summer vacations in the locality; d) Coordinating with the Principal in moral education for students; foster and encourage good students, help weak students; help poor students, students with disabilities and students with other difficult circumstances; mobilizing students who have dropped out to return to school; and dd) Guiding the organization and operation of the Boards representing parents of students in class.”
3.4. Students
According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, each classroom has a class president and vice president. Students in the class are divided into groups, each group has a leader and vice-leader. The class president, class vice president, group leader, and vice president are nominated by the candidate or by the homeroom teacher, elected by students in the class and in the group, and rotated during the school year. Classroom activities should ensure democracy, self-management and cooperation. “Each student has the opportunity to actively discuss and participate in the development of an activity plan of the group, group or class with the support of the teacher.”
At the secondary school level, Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, has a similar system in place. “Each class has a class president and vice-presidents, recommended by the student candidate or by the homeroom teacher, who are elected by the students in the class at the beginning of each school year or after each semester. Each class is divided into groups of students; Each student group has a leader and vice-leader, nominated by the student candidate or recommended by the homeroom teacher, and elected by the students in the group at the beginning of each school year or after each semester.”
4. Governance
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
School principals in Viet Nam can proactively propose recruitment of personnel according to regulations, employing teachers and qualified professional staff. According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, and Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, principals “participate in the process of recruiting, transferring and arranging teachers; organize steps to introduce personnel to request competent authorities to appoint vice principals.” They also can “manage, use and select reference publications for use in schools according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.”
In Viet Nam, the principal manages and is autonomous in the use of financial resources and properties of the school according to regulations. They direct the development and implementation of internal expenditure regulations. They may make financial expenditure estimates, implement revenue and expenditure, publish financial reports, and manage financial inspection and financial disclosure of the school as prescribed.
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
The Standards for Principals of General Education Institutions states that principals are assessed with the Principal Standard Assessment which is based on qualities, competencies, and the working process of the principal in the specific conditions of the school and the local environment. The principal first conducts a self-assessment. The school then organizes the collection of teachers' opinions on the principal’s performance according to principal standards. Finally, heads of direct management agencies carry out the assessment on the basis of the results of the self-assessment of the principal, the opinions of teachers and staff and the practice of performing the duties of the principal through authentic consistent evidence. The results are notified according to the principal's standards. Principals self-assess once a year. Evaluations are conducted biannually.
The Head of the Education and Training Department presides over the evaluation of principals of elementary schools and middle schools. The Director of the provincial-level education and training department evaluates principals of high schools.
According to Circular No: 28/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Primary Schools, and Circular No: 32/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Charter of Middle and High Schools, “after each school year, the principal is assessed by the school's officials and staff and evaluated by competent authorities according to regulations.”
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
According to Talis 2018 indicators, the forms of feedback most commonly used in Viet Nam are based on observation of the teacher's classroom teaching, assessment of the teacher's content knowledge and student survey responses related to the teacher's teaching. Circular 20/2018/TT-BGDĐT details Regulations on assessment according to professional standards. The assessment process begins with the teacher’s yearly self-assessment. Afterwards, opinions are collected from teachers’ colleagues in their professional teams. The head of the school evaluates and grades the teacher based on the results. Teacher evaluations are organized every two years at the end of the school year.
This profile has been reviewed by Truong Dinh Thang, Rector at Quang Tri Teacher Training College
