Ministry of Education and Training explains the mandatory requirement for middle and high schools to teach 2 sessions/day

In recent days, public opinion has been stirred by the news that the Ministry of Education and Training will soon require middle and high schools to organize two sessions per day, instead of only applying it to primary schools as before.

To clarify the information, VietNamNet had an interview with Dr. Thai Van Tai, Director of the Department of General Education, Ministry of Education and Training on this issue.

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

- Sir, you recently shared about the Ministry of Education and Training's calculation to apply 2-session teaching/day for junior high school and high school levels in a survey and inspection session of the Ministry. Could you explain more clearly about this implementation direction?

Saying it is mandatory in the sense of applying it to all schools is not in the spirit that we want to share. In the orientation of the 2018 General Education Program, the teaching plan clearly states: For primary school, teaching is 2 sessions/day, while middle school and high school aim to organize teaching 2 sessions/day.

And the word “aiming” is counted when schools ensure facilities and teaching staff.

Nowadays, the conditions for ensuring teaching and learning in educational institutions have been significantly improved.

According to the actual survey of the Ministry of Education and Training, the rate of junior high schools and high schools with the conditions of 1 classroom/1 class and teachers meeting the standards is quite high. Currently, nationwide, over 60% of junior high schools and over 80% of high schools have the facilities to teach 2 sessions/day. Therefore, we must consider organizing 2 sessions/day in its true sense.

Macro policies aim at the quality of education. Therefore, the “mandatory teaching of 2 sessions/day” is meant for schools that have met the requirements in terms of facilities and teachers. Because for schools that are fully qualified but do not organize it, it is a waste of the state’s investment, while students have to go to school everywhere.

Thus, in order to effectively exploit facilities and teaching staff and in accordance with the policies of the 2018 General Education Program and the Education Law, the Ministry of Education and Training aims to guide the organization of teaching 2 sessions/day for junior high school and high school with qualified schools.

In the near future, the Ministry of Education and Training will issue a document guiding the organization of the second session of the day. This second session will avoid the situation similar to Circular 17 before, where schools are currently following the direction of teaching knowledge or teaching and learning extra.

Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training will guide teaching in accordance with the spirit of teaching to develop students' capacity. Instead of the previous time with such duration, students studied 1 session and up to 5 periods; in the future, it will be spread out to 2 sessions and meet some content according to the needs of learners and practical life such as: Digital capacity, AI, career guidance for students to choose the right career,...

Thus, this second session is mainly to meet the needs of students without being too heavy on knowledge.

- For qualified schools, when does the Ministry of Education and Training plan to implement teaching 2 sessions/day, sir?

This May, the Ministry of Education and Training will issue a document guiding the teaching of two sessions per day so that schools can be prepared for the next school year.

Statistics show that the percentage of schools that meet the requirements is quite large and if we “close schools” it would be a waste. Meanwhile, if we let students attend extra classes at outside centers, we will not be able to manage the teaching content.

The requirement of studying 2 sessions/day for middle and high schools is receiving the attention of many parents.

- Many parents are concerned and worried that when organizing 2 sessions/day, they will return to the "old scenario" that the school organizes cooperation with outside centers and parents will have to spend more money. What do you think about this?

The management of teaching according to the needs of learners is carried out according to Decree 24 of 2021 of the Government. Accordingly, the People's Councils of provinces must determine which content is included in teaching in schools according to the needs of learners, that is, the management of content and funding. Thus, not all content is included.

The Ministry will also guide schools to organize second-session classes according to learners' needs such as: Teaching English as a second language; teaching digital skills (AI, STEM,...); career guidance...

On-demand lessons are a form of service but are controlled and managed by Decree 24 of the Government and Resolutions of Provincial People's Councils.

Therefore, when organizing, school facilities, content supervised by the school, deducting input cost factors, it will certainly be much lower than students studying outside.

Parents and students should also note that the extra-curricular classes on the second day are not compulsory for students to attend. The spirit is to create conditions for students to have the opportunity to study at school, not to make it compulsory. The extra-curricular classes taught on the second day are not arranged according to the school year but according to the needs of the learners.

In case students do not need or do not register, after completing the regular afternoon classes, they can leave school early to go home.

(Source: Vietnamnet)

Link: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-gd-dt-giai-thich-ve-yeu-cau-bat-buoc-cac-truong-thcs-va-thpt-day-2-buoi-ngay-2388226.html

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bo-gd-dt-giai-giach-ve-yeu-cau-bat-buoc-cac-truong-thcs-va-thpt-day-2-buoi-ngay-ar935929.html