Ho Chi Minh City orders schools not to handle school violence internally or delay reports

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training and the municipal Department of Public Security have jointly issued a plan on preventing, detecting and handling school violence, child abuse and other violations of the law involving students.

Under the plan, schools and local police will coordinate through four stages: detecting and receiving information, assessing risks and intervening, providing support and monitoring, and taking follow-up preventive measures.

When a school violence case is detected or reported, schools must coordinate with commune-level police, students’ families and students concerned to verify the initial information, identify those involved, determine the location and time of the incident, and assess its urgency.

The information must be reported to the person responsible for handling the case.

Schools are prohibited from arbitrarily disseminating details of incidents on social media.

If there are signs that a child has been abused, the national child protection hotline at 111 must be notified immediately.

After receiving information, schools and local police must assess the risks, separate students involved in conflicts, provide first aid where necessary and take measures to protect students and prevent further incidents.

Information provided to families must be handled according to the circumstances.

It must not increase risks to students or interfere with verification and investigation by competent authorities.

At the intervention stage, schools may organize meetings, counseling, mediation, education and psychological support appropriate to the students involved.

However, when an incident shows signs of a criminal or other legal violation, or is particularly serious, schools must promptly transfer relevant information and necessary documents to police.

Internal school procedures must not obstruct the verification or investigation process.

Schools must clearly assign responsibility for handling cases while protecting and supporting students and coordinating with their families and other relevant agencies.

Information about an incident may only be shared with people who need to know, for legitimate purposes and within their authority, in order to protect students’ privacy and safety.

Following an incident, schools must continue working with families, commune-level police and relevant organizations to support students, provide psychological counseling, help them return to stable learning and restore relationships.

Schools must also assess the risk of recurrence, review their handling of the incident and introduce preventive measures.

Where necessary, anonymized information may be used for student education and warnings.

The plan identifies prevention as a key priority.

Besides, legal, moral and life-skills education, school counseling and management of the learning environment, areas surrounding schools and online spaces are vital.

Disciplinary measures must be serious while remaining educational and humane and appropriate to the students’ ages.

Schools must not conceal incidents, attempt to resolve serious cases solely through internal procedures, or delay transferring information when there are signs of a legal violation.