Schools are still struggling to organize 2 sessions/day.

No tuition fees but still mobilize socialized revenue?

According to the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training, from this school year, the whole country will implement compulsory teaching at the primary level with 2 sessions/day with a maximum of 7 periods/day, each period 35 minutes. Session 1 teaches the main curriculum according to regulations;

Session 2 is for activities to consolidate, supplement, educate skills, experience, career guidance, reading culture, financial education, digital skills, sports, arts, artificial intelligence, learn about local history and culture...

For junior high school and high school, teaching 2 sessions/day is not mandatory but implemented in places with sufficient conditions. The school arranges a minimum of 5 school days per week, maximum of 11 sessions/week; each day no more than 7 periods, each period 45 minutes.

The content of session 2 focuses on 3 main groups: tutoring for underachieving students, nurturing excellent students and reviewing for final exams; in addition, there are also STEM/STEAM educational activities, career guidance, scientific research, reading culture, life skills, etc.

Notably, the new point in the guidelines for implementing 2-session teaching/day issued by the Ministry of Education and Training is the regulation of not charging tuition fees for the 2nd session to ensure fairness and reduce the financial burden on parents. The Ministry of Education and Training has provided guidance on funding from local budgets, while promoting socialization...

However, this is also something that makes both parents and school leaders concerned. With the Ministry's second-session study instructions, it can be understood that in order to implement educational activities such as aesthetic education, physical education, and artistic talent development, which are socialized educational activities, schools still have to mobilize contributions from parents.

Although it is not mandatory and only organized in cases where there is a need, the second session still increases costs and adds burden to parents while not all parents can afford to let their children participate, so there will be students who can only study one session per day.

A quick survey at some secondary schools in Hanoi shows that the schools are still in the process of reviewing parents' needs.

At Dai Thinh Secondary School (Hanoi), Ms. Ta Thi Thuan, Principal of the school, said: "The school has reviewed all facilities, especially functional rooms, and announced the plan to parents. Based on the wishes of students' families, we will build flexible content for the second session, including activities on life skills education, career guidance, experience, reading culture, scientific research...".

The Board of Directors of Xuan Phuong High School (Hanoi) also said that the school is waiting for detailed instructions from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training to plan for teaching 2 sessions/day because in reality there are still many unclear points about revenue sources, how to socialize, and how to arrange teaching for sessions 1 and 2?

In Ho Chi Minh City, schools are also concerned when the Ministry of Education and Training stated that provinces and cities provide funding for this activity, but the City Department of Education and Training has not yet provided specific instructions. Meanwhile, the City People's Council has only approved 9 revenue items for the school year, not including funding for second-session teaching.

Schools are still struggling to organize 2 sessions/day - Photo 1.

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Conflicting needs with session 2

For many parents, especially those in private schools, they expect that the second session is not simply about studying culture, but more importantly, their children will be oriented towards the future, learn skills, experience careers or study topics related to future careers. With this need, the Ministry of Education and Training's guidance on studying 2 sessions/day has met the right needs and schools will easily implement it.

Kim Lien High School (Hanoi) has implemented a career orientation class model targeting top universities for 10th grade students who have just been admitted to the 2025-2026 school year.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, the school's principal, said that this class model will include tutoring in accordance with Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training on extra teaching and learning, allowing schools to provide tutoring in core subjects such as Math, Literature, and Foreign Languages 2 periods/week completely free of charge.

In addition, students will be able to improve their foreign language skills to achieve international certificates such as IELTS, SAT, etc., along with skill classes, extracurricular activities, and orientation on choosing schools and majors.

However, similar models like this will be difficult to implement in economically disadvantaged areas. For many parents of students in rural areas with low incomes, generating any additional income for their children's education is a difficult "problem".

On the other hand, with the goal of studying to get a degree, many parents only want to invest in their children's extra classes and exam preparation as much as possible instead of learning skills, extracurricular activities...

While the Ministry of Education and Training has banned extra classes in schools, parents have found extra classes outside, which means students no longer have time and are not encouraged by their parents to attend the second session at school.

Therefore, to implement session 2, schools need to conduct careful surveys and find models that are suitable for the actual needs of the locality, parents, and students, as well as suitable for the teachers' capacity and school infrastructure.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/cac-truong-van-loay-hoay-voi-to-chuc-hoc-2-buoi-ngay-20250825135612788.htm