Ministry of Education and Training: Secondary and high schools will have to teach 2 sessions/day

At the inspection and survey session of the Ministry of Education and Training on the implementation of digital transcripts, development of digital learning materials and organization of 2-session teaching/day for general education in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Thai Van Tai - Director of the Department of General Education, Ministry of Education and Training said that 2-session teaching/day must fully exploit the capacity of facilities and teaching staff, serving the teaching of students, but it is necessary to identify separately and transparently which content the school implements and which content requires external support.

Guidance issued in May

"This May, the Ministry of Education and Training will issue guidelines for teaching two sessions per day, clarifying each content to facilitate schools in the new school year," said Mr. Tai.

The Director of the General Education Department analyzed that the 2018 General Education Program's ultimate goal is students' capacity and quality, not just knowledge. Teaching knowledge to students is only a part of the program, the school's task is to create an environment for students to develop their capacity according to the requirements of each subject.

Mr. Thai Van Tai - Director of General Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training

The implementation of teaching and learning towards developing qualities and abilities requires teaching 2 sessions/day. Currently, primary schools are required to teach 2 sessions/day, while secondary and high schools are required to teach 2 sessions/day. The Ministry of Education and Training will soon amend and require secondary and high schools to also teach 2 sessions/day.

“The task of teaching 2 sessions/day to develop students’ qualities and abilities is a task that cannot be delayed any longer. Any place that has not yet ensured 2 sessions/day is still in debt to its students…” – Mr. Tai emphasized.

In organizing 2 sessions/day of teaching, Head of Department Thai Van Tai noted that the school cannot combine teaching all subjects according to the 2018 General Education Program in the morning, but the timetable needs to be designed and arranged evenly in both sessions to reduce pressure on students.

Inspection, survey and working delegation at Phu Nhuan High School - Ho Chi Minh City

At the same time, it is necessary to exploit learning topics and subjects to turn knowledge into capacity for students. This needs to be clearly and transparently demonstrated by the professional team from the beginning of the school year.

“These topics and subjects need to be organized completely differently from the teaching of subjects in the 2018 General Education Program. The school's task is to be transparent, the topics must be proven. Topics other than classes are not based on class units and must be taught according to demand. In the upcoming instructions for teaching 2 sessions/day, the Ministry of Education and Training will provide specific instructions on this content, clarifying to see that there is no violation of Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning” – Mr. Tai emphasized.

Digital transcripts do not incur any additional costs.

Reporting to the inspection team, Ms. Lam Hong Lam Thuy - Head of the General Education Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training informed that in the 2024-2025 school year, Ho Chi Minh City has 39/556 primary education institutions that have not organized 2 sessions/day; the teaching rate at secondary level is 93%.

Ho Chi Minh City follows the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training according to the 2006 Program to operate 2 sessions/day, but consults with documents guiding schools to implement to meet the school's teaching needs and access the 2018 General Education Program. The school flexibly organizes the 2nd session, interspersing many educational activities such as life skills, international informatics, English with foreigners implemented in the school program.

Regarding the implementation of digital transcripts, up to now, 100% of primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City have implemented digital transcripts and are now officially operational. For grade 5 alone, digital transcripts will be used in admission to grade 6 in the 2025-2026 school year.

The city has built a knowledge unit identifier for the 2018 General Education Program and is currently moving towards building a digital science resource warehouse for the entire city, helping teachers exploit and teach.

Regarding digital learning materials, Ho Chi Minh City has flexibly implemented them, issued implementation regulations, and defined knowledge unit identification codes. According to a survey by the Department of Education and Training, 72.7% of teachers and managers in the city have reached the advanced level; 23.1% have reached the basic level; only 4.2% have not met the requirements.

Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City added that the city has built a knowledge unit identifier for the 2018 General Education Program, and is currently moving towards building a digital learning resource warehouse for the entire city, helping teachers exploit and teach. In addition, 50 typical digital schools will be selected to build 50 smart libraries to deploy a digital learning resource warehouse for the entire city. In the future, the city will research to bring AI and virtual reality to teaching.

Regarding the implementation of digital transcripts, according to Mr. Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City will continue to review and soon submit to the City People's Committee the pilot of digital transcripts at the secondary level.

Regarding the content of digital transcripts, Director Thai Van Tai emphasized that the implementation of digital transcripts is not allowed to incur any additional costs. The additional costs of digital transcripts are storage costs, which are included in the cost of digital transformation.

5 compulsory contents that schools must include in teaching 2 sessions/day

Director of the General Education Department Thai Van Tai stated that there are 5 mandatory contents that schools must include in their educational content when organizing 2 sessions/day. These include: Education to develop digital skills for students; STEM education; Career education; Traffic Safety Law; Topics and educational activities to develop students' capacity.

“Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning issued by the Ministry of Education and Training helps reduce the pressure of academic knowledge for students, spend time turning knowledge into capacity and supplement practical requirements that are not included in the 2018 General Education Program. These contents must be demonstrated when organizing 2 sessions/day of teaching. During the summer break, the principal must assign the subject group to implement the subject plan to aim for this goal, from which the board of directors will develop a suitable time plan for both sessions…” – Mr. Thai Van Tai added.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/bo-gd-dt-bac-thcs-thpt-se-phai-day-2-buoi-ngay-196250404070030233.htm