Vietnam's Largest Elementary School: Managing Over 10,000 Students With Minimal Major Challenges

Khanh Hoa Province – Nha Trang Elementary School, a "super school" with over 10,500 students, reports no major management difficulties and plans to leverage digital transformation for increased efficiency. The school has garnered attention for its scale, becoming the largest in the country after restructuring, with 287 classes and over 10,500 students, supported by 13 vice principals. Established by the People's Committee of Nha Trang City in late August and with personnel decisions announced on September 3, the school was formed by merging 13 former elementary schools. Despite facing the challenge of managing a "super school" spread across a wide area with uneven facilities among its branches, Principal Chau Dinh Mai Phuong stated that no significant difficulties have arisen. "During this phase, we are intensely focused on building and unifying plans to ensure the entire school operates synchronously," Ms. Phuong said. A key solution is the intensified application of digital transformation. Meetings are being moved online to reduce travel burdens for teachers, allowing them to concentrate fully on their professional duties at their respective locations. Regarding personnel, the school has established a framework, clearly assigning responsibilities to the 13 vice principals. In addition to overseeing branches and school sites, each vice principal concurrently manages other areas such as curriculum, emulation and rewards, security, boarding services, and universal education. The principal and vice principals are divided into three teams, rotating to inspect, supervise, and support the branches. Ms. Phuong noted that former principals, now vice principals, continue to manage their previous areas, possessing a deep understanding of the staff, characteristics, and actual situation, which is seen as an advantage. For teacher allocation, the school aims to maintain current work locations to ensure stability. Shortages at certain sites will be addressed by reallocating teachers from areas with surpluses, ensuring assignments align with their expertise. Furthermore, the school is compiling information on facilities to request support from the local government. For boarding services, the school has contracted specialized catering and childcare staff, establishing unified nutritional menus across the entire system under the supervision of teachers and parents. Nationwide, the restructuring of the public school network was largely completed by August 31, with an average reduction of approximately 50% in the number of school administrative units. Khanh Hoa Province exceeded this rate, reducing its schools from 728 to just 246. Source: VnExpress