Hanoi's 'Super Schools' Emerge Post-Merger, One Exceeding 6,000 Students

Hanoi has seen the emergence of numerous large-scale schools following the completion of public school consolidation. Notably, over 20 schools now have more than 3,500 students, with THCS Hoang Liet school being the largest, exceeding 6,100 students. The school operates with 121 classes and a staff of 220 teachers and employees. The consolidation has reduced the number of kindergartens, primary, and lower secondary schools in Hanoi from over 2,160 to 938, a decrease of 56.6%. The new schools are structured either as large-scale single-level schools with multiple branches or as multi-level integrated schools. THCS Giang Vo and Kien Hung Primary School are among those with over 5,000 students. In some areas, seven schools were merged to form new institutions with student populations ranging from 2,400 to 5,300. Nationwide, the school consolidation was largely completed by August 30, reducing the number of public school establishments by approximately 19,000 and leading to the reassignment of over 32,620 principals and vice-principals. Nha Trang Primary School in Khanh Hoa Province is the largest in the country, with over 10,000 students and 13 vice-principals. The establishment of these 'super schools' presents principals with the challenge of transitioning from traditional management to system-wide governance. The Ministry of Education and Training emphasizes principles of unity, smooth operation, empowering vice-principals and departments, avoiding the creation of intermediate management levels, and ensuring uninterrupted teaching and learning activities. While principals retain overall responsibility, they are expected to delegate branch operations to vice-principals, establish internal regulations for clear accountability, and maintain system-wide consistency. Increased adoption of IT, digital transformation, and synchronized data on students, staff, expertise, finances, and assets are also required. Source: VnExpress