Lack of teachers, difficulty teaching integrated subjects, school violence... are challenges in the 2023-2024 school year, according to the assessment of the Ministry of Education and Training.
The Ministry assessed that in the past school year, the sector effectively implemented the 2018 general education program, and the quality of mass and spearhead education was improved. According to the 2021 Education Best Countries Ranking (announced in 2022), Vietnam ranked 59th in the world (up 5 places compared to the previous year).
At the university level, the autonomy policy is gradually becoming a reality, and enrollment is stable.
The education sector will still face major challenges in the coming school year. This is a pivotal year in the process of educational reform in general education. Nine grades will be taught according to the new curriculum, along with textbooks. At universities, the issue of tuition fees has left schools in a dilemma.
Teacher shortage
The country currently has 1.23 million teachers, lacking 118,200 people. Of these, preschool teachers are the most lacking, nearly 52,000.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the main reasons are the sharp increase in the number of preschool children, the increase in the rate of primary school students studying two sessions per day, the increase in the number of high school classes, and the 2018 curriculum with many new subjects. Last school year, more than 10,000 teachers retired and nearly 9,300 people quit their jobs.
There is a shortage of teachers but the industry has no resources to recruit. In the 2022-2023 school year, localities were assigned to recruit 27,850 more people but only recruited more than 17,000. Many people think that the teaching profession is no longer attractive due to high pressure but not commensurate income.
Responding to VnExpress before the new school year, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said he would submit to the National Assembly permission to temporarily recruit teachers according to the old standards, meaning that they only need to graduate from intermediate or college to teach primary and secondary schools, instead of having to graduate from university as stipulated in the Education Law. Teachers must then improve their qualifications to meet the standards.
"This is considered a temporary solution to have a flexible source of teachers in teaching IT and Foreign Languages," said Mr. Son.
Big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are also facing a shortage of schools and classrooms. In Hanoi, the number of students increases by 60,000 each year, equivalent to 30-40 schools, but there is no more land in the inner city.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the number of students of each age group increases by 10,000-15,000 each year, with 6th graders alone increasing by 42,000 this year, causing secondary schools to be overloaded. The city estimates that by 2025 it will need to add nearly 8,900 classrooms.
Integrated teaching confusion
According to the new program, secondary school students do not study Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, and Geography separately, but study Natural Science, History, and Geography, called integrated subjects. This subject only requires one teacher, but currently the Natural Science, History, and Geography Pedagogy departments have not trained integrated teachers.
To teach integrated lessons, schools often arrange for teachers to teach lessons in the order in the book, or to combine all the lessons of each subject, teaching one subject before moving on to the next. In essence, each subject teacher still teaches that subject.
Single-subject teachers who want to teach integrated courses need to complete 20-36 credits (usually in about 6 months) to get a certificate. Many teachers say that the amount of knowledge and time is not enough for them to confidently teach in class. Moreover, the lessons in the textbook are combined mechanically. Even after two years, the effectiveness of integrated teaching has not met the program's goals.
In mid-August, Minister Son admitted that integrated teaching is one of the most difficult things when implementing the new general education program. He said that "it is highly likely that in the near future, the Ministry will make adjustments to integrated teaching at the secondary level."
Although there is no specific plan yet, many people are worried that if we return to teaching single subjects as before, it will affect the overall new program; and if we continue, it will cause difficulties and fatigue for both teachers and students.
A state textbook?
From the 2020-2021 school year, when the new program is applied, the textbook replacement will be carried out in parallel with the policy of "one program, many textbooks", eliminating the publishing monopoly. This policy is stated in Resolution 88 of the National Assembly at the end of 2014.
To date, 6 publishers and 3 joint stock companies have participated in compiling and publishing books. The three approved book sets include "Canh Dieu", "Chan troi sang tao", "Knowledge connection with life". This school year, 9 classes will study according to the new books and all classes will study according to the new books from next year.
Grade 1 book in the Connecting knowledge with life series. Photo: Thanh Hang
In early August, the National Assembly requested the Government to consider giving its opinion on the policy, assigning the Ministry of Education and Training to prepare the content of a set of textbooks. The National Assembly's monitoring delegation assessed that the failure to organize the compilation of a set of state textbooks, and the complete dependence on socialization, was not in line with the policies and viewpoints of the Party and the State; it posed a risk in the event of no books or books that did not ensure quality. The Ministry was also asked to propose solutions to reduce the cost of books or avoid wasting books.
Minister Nguyen Kim Son suggested careful consideration because returning to using the same set of textbooks would make it difficult to fundamentally and comprehensively reform education, causing unfair competition and wasting money. With 12 million students and 9 grades using new textbooks, it is estimated that society has spent tens of thousands of billions of dong.
Which option for high school graduation exam 2025?
According to plan, the Ministry of Education and Training will announce the 2025 high school graduation exam plan this year.
In mid-March, the Ministry sought opinions on a plan to have six exam subjects, including four compulsory subjects (Math, Literature, Foreign Language and History) and two optional subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Information Technology, and Technology).
However, currently, the Departments of Education and Training are required to consult teachers on two options, in which the key difference is whether to make History a compulsory subject or not.
Some teachers believe that since History is a compulsory subject, of course it must be tested, otherwise students will neglect their studies. Many others assert that only 3 compulsory subjects are needed to reduce the pressure of studying and testing for students and save costs for society.
In addition, Mr. Nguyen Tan, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Thua Thien - Hue, said that if History is made a compulsory subject, it will create an imbalance in graduation exams and disadvantage students who are oriented towards natural sciences.
As the high school graduation exam changes, university admissions must also change accordingly. Therefore, teachers and students are looking forward to the final solution to have an early review plan.
Candidates taking the 2023 high school graduation exam in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quynh Tran
Ensuring school safety
The Ministry of Education and Training assesses school violence as a pressing issue. In 2022, according to reports from 49 provinces and cities, there were 384 cases of school violence. The Ministry assesses that the actual number is much larger, with at least nearly 7,100 people at risk of being involved. The Ministry is reviewing to update the code of conduct in schools to reduce this situation.
The Ministry of Public Security said that although students who break the law only account for 2.63% of the total number of juvenile offenders, this number tends to increase by about 30% each year.
Among the six groups of issues that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the education sector to focus on solving, the first two issues are to resolutely not let drugs and social evils enter schools, harming the moral health and personality of students, and to overcome violence and ensure safety for teachers and students.
College tuition
After three years of keeping tuition unchanged, this year many schools have increased their tuition fees sharply, based on Decree 81 on public tuition fees. Accordingly, the tuition ceiling for non-autonomous schools is 1.35-2.76 million VND per month, twice the old level (0.98-1.43 million VND). Autonomous schools, depending on the level, can collect a maximum of 2-2.5 times higher (2.7-6.9 million VND). With quality-accredited programs, schools can determine their own tuition fees.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha later suggested not to increase tuition fees. The Ministry of Education and Training has submitted to the Government a draft to amend some articles of the decree. University tuition fees for the next school year may still increase, but will be delayed by one year compared to the original schedule, meaning the ceiling is 1.2-2.45 million VND per month.
University tuition fees remain a burden for many families after two years of Covid-19. However, this is the main source of income for many schools, accounting for 50%, even 90% of total revenue. Without an increase, schools will have difficulty ensuring regular expenses and investment in human resources, not to mention improving facilities and the quality of teaching and research.
Duong Tam - Thanh Hang
Source link
Comment (0)