Outrage over 'inserting voluntary courses into the main curriculum'

The timetable for a first-grade class typically includes many voluntary subjects interspersed with compulsory subjects. This timetable has since been adjusted and changed after consulting with parents.

First, there's the issue that has occurred in many provinces and cities across the country, prompting numerous parents to send complaints to the press over the past year: the inclusion of voluntary subjects into the main curriculum.

This is a shared feeling.

According to feedback from parents, many schools in various localities across the country have not widely, publicly, and transparently conducted surveys to gather parents' opinions on the need for their children to register for many voluntary - non-compulsory - subjects in the curriculum.

Subjects such as life skills, STEM, English with native speakers, learning English through math and science , iSmart English, etc., are subjects that require additional fees, at least tens of thousands of VND per subject/month, and some subjects costing up to hundreds of thousands of VND/month…

Without obtaining the full consent of 100% of the parents in the class, schools in many localities still include these voluntary subjects in the regular curriculum. Some parents have raised the question of where students will go if they don't register their children for these voluntary subjects, and also cannot arrange to pick them up during class time…

A representative from the Ministry of Education and Training confirmed to a reporter from Thanh Nien newspaper that the above method is completely against regulations.

Numerous localities are reviewing and adjusting their regulations.

Following complaints from parents, and after Thanh Nien Newspaper and other media outlets spoke out and reported on the issue, localities nationwide quickly reviewed and rectified the practice of "inserting" voluntary subjects into the main curriculum.

In late September 2023, the Hai Phong Department of Education and Training issued a directive on strengthening the management of activities at foreign language centers, computer training centers, life skills centers, and extracurricular educational activities.

Many parents complained to the press about the "insertion of voluntary subjects into the main curriculum" in September 2023.

The Department of Education and Training of Nam Dinh province has also sent a document to high schools and affiliated education departments regarding the rectification of extracurricular tutoring in the 2023-2024 school year. Accordingly, the Department requires schools to strictly adhere to regulations on time, duration, and general requirements for extracurricular tutoring within schools. Absolutely no extracurricular tutoring is allowed for students who already receive two sessions of instruction per day; and no extracurricular tutoring is permitted for primary school students.

The Nghe An Department of Education and Training has directed district education departments and schools in the area to temporarily suspend partnerships with life skills training centers; and to review personnel, facilities, assess teaching programs, and other organizational conditions before introducing these centers into schools.

The An Giang Department of Education and Training also promptly issued a document to educational institutions, directing them not to organize extra classes or tutoring in any form at facilities that care for and look after students. Schools and teachers are strictly prohibited from using any direct or indirect methods to suggest or force students to participate.

Notably, on September 29, 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training issued a document requesting localities to review and report to the Ministry of Education and Training on joint programs within schools.

Subsequently, in early October 2023, the Soc Son District Department of Education and Training in Hanoi issued a document requesting schools in the area to temporarily suspend all collaborative activities within the school, including (teaching digital skills, supplementary English, art clubs, etc.), until all necessary documents are available (proposals, teaching plans, teaching programs, lists of teaching staff, plans for using public assets for collaboration) and approved by the Department of Education and Training.

Later, at the conference to implement tasks for the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year organized by the Hanoi Department of Education and Training in October 2023, Mr. Dao Tan Ly, Head of the Primary Education Department of the same agency, also stated that schools are absolutely not allowed to insert collaborative teaching hours into the main curriculum unless 100% of students voluntarily register to participate.

Regular school lessons must not be cut short or reduced. The school must assign teachers to complete the full teaching load. Only after the curriculum has been fully completed and the teacher's teaching load has been met, and there is still free time, can extracurricular activities be organized.

The timetables of many primary schools have been changed following requests for rectification from the Department of Education and Training and the Ministry of Education and Training. Each student's elective subjects will be different and scheduled for the last period of the day.

Also in early October 2023, at a primary school briefing conference, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training requested that schools strictly implement the survey process. If a class does not have 100% parental agreement, the voluntary subject cannot be included in the official timetable. Many primary schools have re-surveyed parents and adjusted their timetables to reflect the voluntary subjects that students have registered for.

The Ministry of Education and Training issued the directive.

Most recently, in early December 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training issued a document requiring all provincial Departments of Education and Training nationwide to strictly manage life skills education and extracurricular activities; if implemented, these activities must be voluntary and should not be scheduled between regular class periods. The document was signed by Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuong, Deputy Minister of Education and Training.

The Ministry of Education and Training stated: "In the past period, the organization and implementation of life skills education and extracurricular education activities in the Departments of Education and Training have achieved positive results, mobilizing resources from organizations and individuals to participate in improving the overall quality of education. However, the implementation process still has limitations and shortcomings."

The Ministry of Education and Training requires provincial Departments of Education and Training to strictly manage the conditions ensuring the effectiveness of life skills education and extracurricular activities, including the location, quality of teachers, lecturers, and trainers. At the same time, they must ensure that teaching is conducted according to the curriculum and materials approved by the competent authority.

The Ministry also requested that when conducting inspections and audits, localities should pay attention to the appropriateness and responsiveness of educational content to the urgent needs of local learners; ensure that it does not violate regulations on tutoring and supplementary classes; that learners participate voluntarily and are not forced; and that study time is arranged so as not to overlap with regular class periods…

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/diem-nong-giao-duc-2023-buc-xuc-chen-mon-tu-nguyen-vao-chinh-khoa-185231228182230222.htm