Chaotic links to teach life skills: Ban or manage?

The dark side of life skills networking

At the beginning of the new school year, many parents reported that schools were charging excessive fees. Some of these fees were for students to learn and experience and develop life skills. In fact, the 2018 general education program emphasized teaching life skills to students. Therefore, the program was designed to give students time to learn many life skills and experiences to form their qualities and abilities.

For this reason, schools have introduced experiential programs and taught life skills to students by linking with businesses and centers outside of school. Many life skills programs bring certain values and meanings. However, besides many meaningful programs, there are also many programs that are commercial in nature, even imposing to collect excessive fees.

jump link here live skills or picture 1 — Learning life skills is necessary but should not be organized indiscriminately but selectively. Photo source Internet.

Is it legal to link to teach life skills?

Circular No. 04/2014/TT-BGDDT dated February 28, 2014 of the Minister of Education and Training on promulgating regulations on management of life skills education activities and extracurricular educational activities; prescribed by the Government in Decree 24/2021/ND-CP dated March 23, 2021 regulating management in public preschools and general education institutions. Accordingly, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree 24 states: "Educational institutions are allowed to proactively cooperate with universities, research institutions, vocational education institutions, enterprises, business households, organizations, individuals and families of students to organize educational activities suitable to local conditions in accordance with the provisions of law". Thus, inviting units outside the school to teach students is a permitted policy.

“ I was surprised why we had to hire an outside center to teach students when those skills should be taught to them by teachers ” – Ms. Hoang Thi Loan in Ba Dinh, Hanoi shared when she learned that her child’s school had a life skills program. For many years, there have been trips designed for students under the guise of teaching life skills and experiences. Many schools have organized overnight trips for high school students, and such trips cost nearly 1 million VND/student. The educational value brought to the students is very limited, but the amount of money spent is very wasteful.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Hanh in Thanh Xuan, Hanoi, said that spending nearly 1 million VND to let her child experience two days and one night with friends is something that not every parent has the money to spend. Every year, schools organize many such programs under the guise of volunteering, but in reality, it is no different from coercion. " If any student does not register to participate, the teachers will immediately have an attitude," Ms. Nguyen Thu Hanh shared. According to the reporter's records, there are even schools that have punished students who do not register to participate in the experience, such as forcing them to clean up during the time their classmates are traveling.

The usefulness of such trips for students cannot be measured, but the consequences have been heartbreaking. There have been accidents that have caused casualties among students due to trips disguised as life skills education, such as drowning and accidents. Specifically, in 2021, Dong Anh High School in Hanoi sent 896 students from grades 10 and 11 to experience activities at Ngoc Xanh Island Tourist Area (Phu Tho), 3 students had accidents, of which 1 died and 2 were seriously injured. A 4th grade student from Duong Lan Primary School (HCMC) died at Dai Nam Tourist Area; a student from Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School for the Gifted (Soc Trang) died while on an experience trip in Da Lat; a preschooler died from a crushed cabinet while visiting the new school library... Not to mention that students going on group experiences makes logistics a concern. There have been many cases of mass poisoning, many children had to be taken to the emergency room while participating in tours with teachers.

Many parents in Hai Phong have shared that at the beginning of the school year, during parent-teacher meetings, teachers disseminate information about extracurricular subjects that the school implements, including life skills. Although I want to equip my children with additional skills in addition to the cultural knowledge learned at school, I am also very concerned about the skills training at school when the teachers who teach my children are hired from other centers, and I do not know about the quality.

Ban or manage?

Recently, in Nghe An, Mr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training (GD&DT) informed that in the coming time, the association of centers to teach life skills in public educational institutions will be temporarily suspended, while the centers will be reviewed, life skills teaching programs will be assessed and implemented when conditions are met, ensuring regulations. Teaching life skills to students will still be implemented by schools through integration into subjects, experiential activities...

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Education and Training also said that the implementation of this content still has many shortcomings. The revenue and expenditure are not transparent, causing many parents to worry. Specifically: Organizing life skills training in the form of cooperation between educational institutions and centers requires mobilizing socialization to implement (students participate voluntarily and with the consent of their parents). When organizing, the center - school - parents meet together and agree on the revenue and expenditure.

Need to review the entire affiliate program

According to the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An, there are currently life skills training centers with unsuitable educational facilities, lacking space for outdoor activities, playgrounds, experience areas, etc. Reinvestment in facilities and equipment for teaching life skills from revenue sources has not received adequate attention. Many centers do not have enough teachers to teach, to act as core instructors, and to advise and assist other teachers contracted by the center to teach. Training and fostering of life skills teachers has not been focused on; Propaganda and coordination between schools - families - centers are not good, and have not received consensus from parents, students, and public opinion, etc. Therefore, the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An has temporarily suspended implementation. Considering that there is no shortage of poor quality centers nationwide. Therefore, localities must also conduct a general review if necessary. Avoiding the situation of "closing the barn door after the horse has fled" and avoiding tragic accidents when students go on field trips and learn life skills is something that needs to be prevented from afar.

Speaking to reporters from the Journalist & Public Opinion Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam (Chairman of the Hanoi Psychology and Education Association) said that the fact that schools are linking up to teach life skills with outside centers stems from the fact that teachers at general schools are not given basic training to teach skills. Teachers should be equipped and trained to teach students, but currently they are not professionally equipped. However, Mr. Tung Lam also said that many centers currently have good programs, so linking up is necessary to further promote the role of organizations outside of schools in educating and training students.

It is not advisable for localities to ban joint training in life skills, but rather to evaluate the program. If any center or business meets the requirements, then the joint training is allowed. This field should not be left alone to allow poor programs to be introduced into schools. Even tragic accidents occur during the process of organizing experiences for students. That is regrettable.

Trinh Phuc

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