Digital transformation has become an inevitable requirement in the modernization of school administration, yet its implementation remains hindered by multiple shortcomings, highlighting the need for timely and comprehensive solutions.
According to lecturer Le Khanh Van at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Institute of Educational Management in Ho Chi Minh City, digital transformation is no longer optional but a mandatory requirement for school leaders seeking to comprehensively innovate and improve the quality of education and training. Principals are expected not only to use digital tools effectively in school management but also to support teachers in applying information technology in teaching activities.
In today’s digital era, effective school management demands that principals master the ability to search, evaluate, and manage information with precision. Beyond administrative duties, leaders are expected to leverage digital platforms for data sharing and online reporting to higher authorities. At the same time, safeguarding information has emerged as a critical responsibility. School leaders must ensure the protection of students’ personal data, uphold intellectual property rights, and maintain robust information security across the digital landscape.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Ly Hoang Anh from the Faculty of Business Administration of Saigon University noted that research conducted by his team on “The relationship between financial and asset management factors and the effectiveness of educational management in public educational institutions in Vietnam” indicates that information technology currently has only a moderate impact on school management effectiveness. The research surveyed 120 administrators from 50 public schools in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.
Civil servants at administrative units in wards and communes are under mounting pressure as workloads surge under the two-tier local government model. Despite rising demands, staffing remains capped at just two officials per unit, while technical support systems and administrative budgets have not kept pace. This imbalance has created significant challenges in human resource capacity and organizational management.
Addressing the issue, Deputy Head Truong Van Tuan of the Faculty of Management Science at the Institute of Educational Management in Ho Chi Minh City called for an accelerated digital transformation. He proposed synchronizing school management software and enhancing connectivity between the Department of Education and Training, local authorities, and schools to boost the effectiveness of state management in education. Deputy Head Truong Van Tuan also stressed the importance of balancing training efforts between administrators and teachers to ensure a smooth transition in the digital era.
A principal of a high school in Ho Chi Minh City has highlighted a critical gap in current training and professional development programs, noting that they primarily target teachers as the direct implementers of educational activities. While this focus is important, the principal emphasized that without strong digital skills among school administrators, overall operations and management cannot achieve true effectiveness.
The principal urged management authorities to place greater emphasis on enhancing the digital capacity of school leaders. At the same time, he called for strengthened professional training for education officials at the ward and commune levels, ensuring smoother operations and more effective state management of education in the digital era.
Education experts further pointed out that existing policies on digital capacity development are mostly pilot-based or short-term and have yet to form a sustainable ecosystem that encourages initiative and creativity among education administrators. They argued that priority should be given to increasing investment in technology and data infrastructure, developing systems capable of storing and processing large volumes of data for school administration, and establishing shared data platforms that ensure connectivity and data sharing among units. At the same time, efforts are needed to enhance digital competencies within management teams and foster innovative thinking, technological adaptability, and readiness for change among school administrators.
