Ms. Thuc said that her eldest son, in grade 12, stopped taking extra classes at school since the second semester; her second daughter, in grade 8, is still taking extra classes three times a week at school, but her homeroom teacher announced that after February 14, teachers will stop giving extra classes both at school and outside classes.

“My child is a good student and is more self-motivated, so when he learned that the teachers would no longer teach him extra classes, he bought books and online courses to study on his own. However, he is still worried because this is the final year of school, there will be many new points on the exam, and he doesn’t know if he can study on his own. My child is usually a bit weak in his studies, and needs tutoring to improve. Now that he doesn’t go to extra classes, he is worried that he will fall behind,” Ms. Thuc confided.

She said that in the past, in addition to taking extra classes at school, her two children also took extra classes outside for 3 main subjects (Math, Literature, English for middle school students and Math, Physics, Chemistry for high school students), with tuition fees of 50,000 VND/session lasting from 1.5 to 2 hours. Each month, the cost of extra classes is about 1.6 to 2 million VND/child. With the income from her and her husband's sewing business, this is not a small expense, but if the children stop taking extra classes, she will be worried.

“If my child doesn’t go to extra classes, I’m afraid he won’t be able to keep up with his friends and won’t get good results in exams; moreover, he’ll be wandering around at home with no one to control him,” Ms. Thuc shared.

With her 12th grade son, she and some parents represented the class to ask the teachers to continue tutoring at school to help the children prepare for graduation exams and university entrance exams, but they have not yet received approval. “The homeroom teacher said she would report to the principal, if the school agrees, the teachers will teach, otherwise the children will have to study on their own,” she said.

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Notice of temporary suspension of extra-curricular activities of a secondary school in Hoai Duc, Hanoi.

Ms. Bich Hang in Ha Dong (Hanoi) also said that her eldest son's homeroom teacher announced that the school officially stopped extra tutoring and boarding activities from February 15.

“I still want my child to take extra classes in the afternoon because that way he doesn’t have to go to school at night. Moreover, my parents work during office hours, so my child has to stay home in the afternoon to watch TV and surf the internet, which is very inconvenient…”, Ms. Hang expressed.

According to Ms. Hang, when her child was in 6th and 7th grade, in the afternoon her child attended extra classes at school and in the evening she attended classes with a teacher outside. Since he entered 8th grade, he has only attended extra classes at school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons with a fee of 9,000 VND/session, and attended classes outside on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons with a tuition fee of 80,000 VND/session.

“The school organizes extra classes voluntarily, and those who do not want to participate can stay home. Now the teachers have announced that from February 15, all afternoon extra classes, boarding classes, skill classes, stem classes, etc. will be stopped... I and many other parents feel very worried. The knowledge is heavy, it is difficult for children to study on their own,” said Ms. Hang.

She shared that in addition to her first child in 8th grade, she has a second child in 4th grade and a kindergartener. “My family doesn’t have grandparents to support us, so with just the couple and their children, every change is a headache. Let’s just wait until February 15th to see what happens,” she added.

Up to this point, many parents of other schools in inner-city and suburban districts in Hanoi have also said they have received notice that their schools will no longer organize extra classes. Ms. Nhu Trang in Kim Chung, Hoai Duc, Hanoi said that her child's school had stopped offering extra classes a week before Lunar New Year. A mother whose child is studying at a high school in Hoan Kiem district shared that extra classes at her child's school are no longer being held, but the school is still enhancing knowledge for students taking the graduation exam this year (without charging fees).

Speaking with VietNamNet , Ms. Tran Thi Yen, Principal of Van Quan Secondary School (Ha Dong, Hanoi) confirmed that the school had informed parents about stopping extra tutoring during the parent meeting at the end of the first semester. She said that all new documents and new regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training and other governing agencies were publicly announced by the school to parents and students and strictly implemented.

Mr. Dinh Vu, a Physics teacher at a high school in Phuc Tho district, Hanoi, said that when he received the notice that the school would not organize extra classes from the second semester, many parents and students expressed their concerns and expressed their wishes for teachers to continue to support their children's review at school or outside.

“Currently, we have to comply with the regulations in the new circular, so we cannot meet this request from parents. In fact, there are some teachers who can teach 'underground' but they are very few and this is too risky because if they are unfortunately discovered, they will be disciplined and suspended from work. Honestly, many teachers feel quite discouraged by the new regulations,” said Mr. Vu.

According to Mr. Vu, if we only teach according to the main curriculum, the time is often not enough to thoroughly explain the theory and help students apply it to do exercises and improve their knowledge. Now that the supplementary classes are no longer available, it will more or less affect the teaching and learning of teachers and students.

In addition, Mr. Vu said that for students about to take university entrance exams, the need to review and practice questions is even higher; many students want to participate in competency or thinking assessment exams and want to be helped to review more, but teachers are also in a difficult position.

“Some teachers force students to take extra classes here and there, but it is rare, while the need for students and parents to improve and consolidate their knowledge is very high. However, according to the new regulations, teachers are not allowed to teach extra classes outside of their regular classes, they cannot organize them, but can only participate in extra classes - usually at registered centers - but in many rural areas, there are almost no centers, except for foreign language teaching facilities... Thus, teachers are bound a lot," said Mr. Vu.

According to him, if there are tutoring centers, it is difficult to find places that have facilities and equipment to serve teaching like schools. Moreover, when the curriculum is heavy, the pressure of exams is high, schools and teachers are not allowed to teach tutoring, it is easy to lead to a situation where students study mainly at the center, and only at school.

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A teacher at a specialized school in Nghe An has expressed his concerns regarding regulations on extra teaching and learning; especially extra teaching in cases where the need is real and legitimate.