Can high school students have Saturday off?

C. PROACTIVELY BUILD SCHEDULES AND EDUCATIONAL PLANS

Recently, Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee issued a document directing the Department of Education and Training, People's Committees of districts and cities to request all educational institutions to implement teaching and learning 5 days/week, from Monday to Friday; Saturday is off for all levels. At the same time, it must ensure the conditions according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, complete the content and general education program of 2018 according to the school year plan.

Saturday off gives students more time to play, relax, and participate in experiential activities.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Speaking to Thanh Nien , Mr. Dinh Trung Tuan, Director of Lai Chau Department of Education and Training, said that the direction of the Provincial People's Committee is to strictly implement the general regulations on working hours of 5 days/week and based on the feasibility of the schools. However, places that meet the conditions will have Saturday and Sunday off, places that do not meet the conditions will have alternating days off during the week, ensuring only working and studying 5 days/week.

According to Mr. Tuan, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, schools have the right to proactively develop timetables and educational plans suitable to their physical facilities, teaching staff, etc. In addition, it is necessary to discuss and receive the consent of parents and students before implementation. The Department of Education and Training has specific instructions on implementing teaching and learning 5 days/week to ensure effective implementation of the content, program, and tasks of the school year. At the same time, conduct inspections and checks on the implementation process; promptly report and propose to the Provincial People's Committee to resolve difficulties, problems, and issues arising beyond its authority. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the Lai Chau Department of Education and Training will organize an assessment of the situation and implementation results and report to the Provincial People's Committee.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS DROP OUT OF SCHOOL IS DECREASED

Ha Tinh City (Ha Tinh Province) is also piloting a program for secondary school students to have Saturdays off from school starting this school year. Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Nga, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Tinh City, said that students will have more time to play, relax, and participate in experiential activities, while staff in secondary schools can recharge their batteries for the following weeks.

Ms. Nga also outlined the steps to implement this policy. First, it is necessary to survey the necessary conditions and needs of managers, teachers, parents, and students, ensuring compliance with the principle of not affecting the program and the quality of learning because it has been fully arranged from Monday to Friday.

Meanwhile, Lao Cai has applied Saturday school breaks for all primary and secondary school students for 5 full school years. Sharing with Thanh Nien , Ms. Hoang Thi Mai Hoa, Vice Principal of Phuc Khanh Primary and Secondary School No. 1 (Bao Yen District, Lao Cai), said: "I have been working as vice principal for 7 years, and 5 years have applied Saturday school breaks, so I have compared and found it extremely reasonable." According to Ms. Hoa, to do this, the facilities and teaching staff must be guaranteed. Although secondary school does not organize 2 sessions/day for 5 days a week, there are about 3 afternoon classes on weekdays. In addition, teachers also provide (free) 1 extra tutoring session for slow students or tutor good students.

Students of Phan Huy Chu High School (Dong Da District). This is one of the few schools in Hanoi that gives students Saturdays off.

According to the Lao Cai Department of Education and Training, after 5 years of piloting, many positive results have been achieved. Teachers have the opportunity to improve their professional qualifications; students can participate in experiential activities, extracurricular activities, practice life skills, and develop comprehensively... Notably, when the above policy was applied, it helped increase the rate of students attending school regularly and reduce the number of students dropping out of school. In the immediate future, Lao Cai will continue to teach 5 days/week for primary and secondary schools; it has not been implemented at high schools because the conditions for this level have not been met.

DOES IT CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXTRA TEACHING AND LEARNING?

Regarding concerns about whether having 2 days off from school per week will lead to extra teaching and learning, Director of Lai Chau Department of Education and Training Dinh Trung Tuan said that there is no need to worry because schools and teachers must comply with the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, with the supervision and consensus of parents and society.

Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Tinh City, Tran Thi Thuy Nga, affirmed that the city has thoroughly grasped the spirit of public school teachers not to organize extra classes on Saturdays and Sundays. The education sector has specific instructions, building a proper teaching plan according to regulations, and teachers have signed a commitment not to teach extra classes on Saturdays and Sundays.

In Lao Cai, Ms. Hoang Thi Mai Hoa stated that in reality, students in the highlands who attend regular classes are already very valuable, forcing students to take extra classes or pay for extra classes almost never happens. Taking two full days off on the weekend is also a way to make middle school students not feel too pressured by studying, and have time to help with family chores.

Hanoi: Saturday school holidays are not a policy of the city or any district, and very few public high schools allow students to have Saturday school holidays. Cau Giay Secondary School and Phan Huy Chu High School are high-quality public schools that have had Saturday school holidays for many years. Phan Chu Trinh Secondary School is one of the few public secondary schools that applies a 5-day/week school schedule.

Ho Chi Minh City: Schools with 2 sessions/day will not study on Saturday . Mr. Le Duy Tan, Head of Secondary Education Department of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that studying on Saturday depends on whether the school organizes 2 sessions/day or 1 session/day. According to Mr. Tan, each district, each school will base on the actual situation, school size, teaching staff, number of students to organize in the most appropriate way. According to regulations, schools with 2 sessions/day will study 5 days/week, with Saturday off. Schools with 1 session/day will study from Monday to Saturday.

Da Nang: Most secondary school students do not study on Saturdays . Mr. Mai Tan Linh, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Da Nang City, said that according to the official schedule, secondary school students in Da Nang City do not study on Saturdays. For high school students, the schedule will be arranged by the principal, but most schools only teach 2-3 periods on Saturday mornings. In Hoa Vang District, secondary and high schools still organize tutoring and remedial classes on Saturday mornings.

Can Tho: Only 5 schools do not study on Saturdays . Can Tho currently has 70 junior high schools and 41 high schools. On October 11, a representative of the Department of Education and Training of Can Tho City said that most junior high schools and high schools currently organize teaching and educational activities from Monday to Saturday every week. Only 1 high school, 3 private schools, and 2 junior high schools teach from Monday to Friday. Whether or not to organize teaching on Saturdays depends on the school's conditions in terms of facilities, teaching staff, etc.

Tue Nguyen - Bich Thanh - Huy Dat - Thanh Duy

It should not be done mechanically.

If the necessary conditions are met, taking a day off on Saturday is appropriate. However, it should not be done mechanically or arbitrarily because students who are about to take the transfer exam need to increase the amount of time they need to study, otherwise they will have to go to extra classes on weekends.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam (Vice President of Vietnam Association of Educational Psychology, President of the Education Council of Dinh Tien Hoang High School - Hanoi)

Need to design a lightweight program

Whether or not to have Saturday school holidays depends on the program. To implement the program of having all schools have Saturday school holidays simultaneously, it is necessary to speed up the construction of enough classrooms and enough teachers to meet the needs of studying 5 days a week. In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training should also redesign the teaching program to be more concise.

Nguyen Van Luc (Teacher of Dien Khanh District, Khanh Hoa)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoc-sinh-trung-hoc-nghi-thu-bay-duoc-khong-185241011224814701.htm