Many parents said that although primary schools with two sessions per day prohibit extra teaching and learning, students who want to still attend will still attend.
HOME TUTORIAL, EVERYONE TUTORIAL
"My child has been studying with this teacher since kindergarten. Now that he is in first grade, I mainly send him to her to help with extra hours. She also helps him practice writing and spelling," said Ms. Ha. That is a class that runs 3 sessions/week, costing 500,000 VND/month. In addition, Ms. Ha also registered her child for another extra class in District 1, focusing more on math, 3 sessions/week, costing 700,000 VND/month. She explained: "I work all day, and when I come home at night, I have to teach my child, which is very tiring. If I don't teach him the right method, he will cry and I will be frustrated. So I would rather send my child to extra classes, so I can review my lessons, and during that time I work overtime, and have extra income to make up for it, and pay for my child's tuition. In the near future, I will also register my child for extra English classes. Not knowing a foreign language is not an option."
Students finish their extra classes at a center on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Ward 5, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, afternoon of November 23.
There are many parents like Ms. Ha. Their children study and then take extra classes, and their parents juggle work and taking their children to extra classes. This is now a daily story for families with school-age children.
Every evening, the after-school tutoring center on Trieu Quang Phuc Street, Ward 11, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City is packed with parents bringing their children to extra classes and waiting to pick them up. At the end of each class, students of all ages, many still wearing their uniforms with large backpacks on their backs, tired faces, stand waiting for their parents to pick them up.
On the evening of November 22, at nearly 8 p.m., when Thanh Nien reporters arrived in front of the center, a long line of parents' motorbikes were parked, waiting for their children to come out.
Yesterday afternoon, November 23, Thanh Nien reporters recorded a bustling atmosphere at many tutoring centers in District 1 and Tan Binh District, during the hours when students finished school and were preparing for a new class.
At a center on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Ward 5, Tan Binh District, at 4:30 p.m., there were about 70-80 students wearing high school uniforms who had just finished a class. Or at an alley on Tran Dinh Xu Street, District 1, at 5 p.m. yesterday, after a heavy rain, parents continuously took their children to enrichment classes in this alley, after the children had just finished their regular school hours at school...
EVERY MONTH TAKES 2/3 MONTH'S SALARY FOR CHILDREN'S EXTRA TUTORING
Many parents say that the monthly cost of extra classes for their children accounts for half, or sometimes two-thirds, of their monthly salary.
Parents pick up their children at an after-school tutoring center on Trieu Quang Phuc Street, Ward 11, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. TV, residing in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City, has children studying in grades 5 and 8 in District 3. She said that not including tuition and other school fees for her two children, not including extra basketball and piano lessons every weekend, she has to spend nearly 9 million VND per month on extra cultural lessons for her two children, which is 2/3 of her monthly income.
"My family sends our children to extra classes to help them master the main subjects, especially math, literature, and English. These three subjects also determine the results of the 10th grade entrance exam at public schools in Ho Chi Minh City, the most important test for children today. Another reason is that my job is very busy, the new curriculum has changed a lot compared to when my parents studied, so having a teacher tutor them will be more accurate, reducing pressure for both mother and children," said Ms. TV.
Ms. Ng.H, a parent whose children are in grades 6 and 8 at a middle school in District 1, said that for many years now, her children have been taking extra math and English classes at the center. This year, her 8th grader is taking extra physics and chemistry classes. The monthly cost of extra classes for her two children is approximately 10 million VND.
From the perspective of students, Duc, a 12th grader at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School in District 3, said that during the week, he has extra classes in the evening to review math, assess his ability, and practice for the IELTS exam. He chooses to study at centers - places that many generations of students have rated as having good teaching and learning quality - and will register to study. According to Duc, to avoid pressure, extra study requires being selective and studying according to needs, arranging a suitable schedule to have time to rest and review the knowledge learned.
C PROGRAM, EXAM IS TOO HEAVY
A math teacher at Marie Curie School (Hanoi) pointed out that one of the important reasons for extra classes (and therefore extra teaching) is that the general education program is still too heavy.
Ms. TV, residing in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City
Marie Curie School had to double the number of math lessons (from 3 lessons/week to 6 lessons/week) so that teachers would have time to teach students relatively thoroughly. If they followed the Ministry of Education and Training's time allocation of 3 lessons/week, teachers could only exclaim: "Oh my God, how can we teach!".
Meanwhile, most public high schools today can only teach one session per day, many schools that can teach two sessions also reserve the second session to organize extra classes in school; the remaining teachers teach extra classes outside the school or students have to find their own classes to study outside, and cannot feel secure when studying only one session at school with such a large amount of knowledge and many subjects.
Students leave after an extra class.
According to National Assembly delegate Nguyen Viet Nga (Hai Duong), the Ministry of Education and Training must conduct thorough research and synchronously implement many solutions such as designing a reduced curriculum so that teachers can cover all the necessary knowledge for students in class. It is necessary to avoid "achievement disease" in education.
According to Mr. Le Viet Khuyen, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, former Director of the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training), to completely resolve the situation of extra classes and tutoring, it is necessary to "handle it from the root", in which it is necessary to design a program suitable to the capacity and awareness of students. When the program is reduced, the pressure of exams is no longer heavy, students only need to learn knowledge at school.
"After the program standards are in place, if students feel they still lack knowledge and need to supplement it, the teachers directly teaching them will be the ones to provide the training and will not be allowed to collect money. As for good students, they can receive additional training to meet their needs and develop their abilities," Mr. Khuyen suggested.
Master Vo Thanh Van, Principal of Ngoc Vien Dong Secondary and High School, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, expressed his opinion: "Let's temporarily forget about whether or not to ban extra teaching and learning. The problem is how to ban it while still satisfying society, both teachers and students, parents of students, and how to eliminate negativity without banning it? That is to untie education, untie students. That is to reform exams, change the perspective on degrees, change the perspective on "progress" of the young generation. The 2018 General Education Program, the competency assessment exams have laid a preliminary foundation, we need to take a few more steps to solve the root problem." (continued)
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