STUDYING SERIOUSLY IN COURSES AND EXTRA COURSES
Many opinions reflect that the practice of forcing extra classes is happening very subtly. In schools, it is a phenomenon that is integrated into the official timetable, using the second session for extra classes; outside of schools, teachers open classes or tutoring centers but let other relatives take the names... Students who do not attend extra classes are pressured in all kinds of ways.
Students after extra classes at a center in Ho Chi Minh City
Meanwhile, the need to learn from good teachers is real, but many teachers who teach the main courses are not the teachers that students and parents want to learn from. This leads to a situation where many students and parents have to accept taking extra classes twice for the same subject. Taking extra classes with the same teacher in class to "please" the teacher, to avoid being seen as out of place with their friends; taking extra classes outside with good teachers, suitable for the needs of each student...
Recently, on some forums for parents, the study schedule of first graders is "shocking": studying at school all day; going to extra classes from 7-9:30 pm; doing homework in class and doing extra exercises in advanced books until 12 pm; if there is a test, practicing with the teacher until 1-2 am...
It is not known whether this information is true or not, but it has received many mixed comments. Many parents shared that such a stressful study schedule for high school seniors is nothing new.
A parent in Dan Phuong District (Hanoi) said that last school year, to prepare for the 10th grade entrance exam, his child had to take extra classes at the teacher's house at... 5am, then go to school, continue extra classes until 10pm in the evening, then go home to do homework, practice questions...
Mr. Le Truong Tung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT University
"8-HOUR SCHOOL DAY" MOVEMENT
Mr. Le Truong Tung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT University, cited the regulation that employees only have to work 8 hours/day and said that it should also be regulated that students should not study more than this time to give them back their childhood.
"The problem of Vietnamese education in the early 21st century is "exam-oriented education" which leads to students being busy studying all day: studying at school, doing homework at home, taking extra classes outside of school... Many children are losing their childhood. "Exam-oriented education" gives rise to many social consequences, when a whole generation of children are forced to study too hard, without time for them to have a normal childhood and develop normally," Mr. Le Truong Tung shared.
From that reality, Mr. Tung proposed: "Is it time for the future of our children - and also for the future of the country - to establish and promote the movement "8-hour school day". 8 hours here includes all the time spent in class, time doing homework at home and extra study time. The school bases on the time spent at school to calculate the amount of homework so that the total time does not exceed 8 hours. If the time spent at school is 8 hours, no homework is assigned and no extra study is given. If studying in one session, the maximum amount of homework is 2 hours, extra study if any (including time doing homework) is 2 hours maximum. Individuals and organizations that teach extra classes outside of school must ensure that extra study time is counted within the 8 hours of study of the learner".
According to Mr. Tung, the above proposal is completely feasible in the context of the National Assembly discussing the Law on Teachers, according to General Secretary To Lam: "We certainly do not have a law on students, but when talking about teachers, there must be students, and the law must resolve well the very important relationship between teachers and students".
ADD TEACHING TO THE LIST OF CONDITIONAL BUSINESSES
Associate Professor Chu Cam Tho, Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, said: "We can easily see that tutoring really has a huge impact on the whole society. If we base it on criteria that affect social security such as the popularity of the profession, the development of human resources... then we will see that tutoring is really a special profession.
"Exam-oriented education" leads to students being busy all day: studying at school, doing homework, and taking extra classes outside of school.
Therefore, adding tutoring to the list of conditional businesses will help better control tutoring centers, prevent the situation of competing for scores, tutoring overload, and putting pressure on students and teachers."
Associate Professor Chu Cam Tho said that tutoring service providers need to operate professionally, meet standards on teaching quality, facilities, teaching staff, improve the quality of care services, coordination, and a healthy and safe learning environment for students. These things will contribute to ensuring the quality of education. When managed as a conditional business category, the management of tutoring activities will be strict. Putting tutoring into the conditional business category will help make information about tutoring service providers transparent, helping parents, students, and teachers easily choose and compare, preventing illegal tutoring activities that do not ensure quality.
In particular, Associate Professor Chu Cam Tho stated that adding tutoring to the list of conditional businesses would help distinguish between tutoring and supplementary knowledge activities at schools. This is important in the current reality, when the boundary between these two activities is ambiguous, causing many schools and educational organizations to not really fulfill their educational role and mission, leading to abuse of tutoring. Supporting the inclusion of tutoring in the list of conditional businesses raises both the issue of managing the need for tutoring and the capacity for tutoring.
The subjects of extra teaching are students, most of whom are still under guardianship, not yet independent, not yet autonomous, and cannot clearly identify their need for extra study. The participants in extra teaching also have specific characteristics, as in our country most of them are teachers who are participating in formal education.
Need to clearly regulate extra teaching in the Law on Teachers
Mr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Vocational Education (Ministry of Education and Training), pointed out that the fact that extra teaching is not clearly regulated in the draft Law on Teachers is a controversial point. "I think that extra teaching should not be considered an official professional activity of general teachers because it can lead to many consequences. That not only has a negative impact on students but also undermines society's trust in the teaching staff. When extra teaching becomes an official activity without being strictly controlled, it can create inequality between students who can afford extra classes and those who cannot."
Mr. Vinh cited the experience of countries such as South Korea and Singapore with very successful models of extracurricular learning support, where teachers can legally and organized extra classes, but are not allowed to teach their own students to avoid conflicts of interest. Therefore, if Vietnam decides to include extra classes in the professional activities of teachers, there must be strict and transparent regulations on implementation conditions and ensure that extra classes do not affect the quality of regular teaching. This will help extra classes become a useful activity, beneficial to students without causing injustice. Mr. Vinh also suggested that the draft Law on Teachers should regulate extra classes in general education at each level.
According to National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Duong delegation), there are some teachers who focus on extra teaching and learning to earn more income, which is partly related to teachers' salaries. Therefore, to combat the widespread practice of extra teaching and learning, improving teachers' income is also a solution. In addition, forcing extra teaching and learning is related to teachers' ethics, so there needs to be a solution to improve teachers' ethics and completely resolve this issue.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/coi-day-them-la-nghe-dac-biet-185241128224132219.htm
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