The Politburo has requested that public educational institutions not establish school councils.

The requirement not to establish school councils in public educational institutions is clearly stated in Conclusion No. 197 of the Politburo and the Secretariat on the implementation of several key contents and tasks in the operations of grassroots Party organizations in the coming period. The conclusion has just been signed and promulgated by Tran Cam Tu, Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat.

The document requests competent agencies to provide specific guidance on strengthening the leadership role of Party organizations and Party committee heads in educational institutions, particularly in public schools where school councils are not established, in order to ensure the Party’s direct and comprehensive leadership.

A school council is a governing body within public educational institutions, responsible for determining the school’s development orientation, organizational structure, allocation and use of resources, and for supervising the implementation of strategies as well as the school’s accountability.

According to the provisions of the Law on Education and relevant legal documents, school councils are established at all levels of public education—from preschool, general education to higher education—with organizational structures, functions, and powers appropriate to each level. For public higher education institutions, a school council must have at least 15 members, serve a five-year term, and hold regular meetings every three months. At present, 167 out of 171 public higher education institutions nationwide (excluding those under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security) have established and consolidated their school councils.

The conclusion of the Politburo and the Secretariat also requires Party committees at all levels to seriously and consistently implement the new regulations on personnel work, ensuring democracy, fairness, objectivity, and transparency, in association with specific performance outcomes and the principles of “in-and-out” and “up-and-down” rotation.

The Party Committee of the Government has been assigned to urgently consolidate grassroots Party organizations in line with the ongoing organizational restructuring, and to complete within October the transfer of Party organizations in state-owned groups, corporations, and commercial banks to the local Party committees where their headquarters are located. The committee is also required to develop a coordination mechanism among Party committees of ministries, sectors, enterprises, and localities to ensure effective management of Party members without affecting production and business activities.

The Politburo and the Secretariat have assigned the Office of the Party Central Committee and the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission to promptly complete the Party membership database and implement the electronic Party Member Handbook in order to modernize Party management and meet the leadership requirements in the new period.