Speaking with a reporter from Dai Doan Ket Newspaper, Mr. Dang Tu An - Director of the Vietnam General Education Innovation Support Fund, former Director of the Primary Education Department ( Ministry of Education and Training ) - stated that: Principals, teachers, students, and parents play a decisive role in the success or failure of implementing Circular 29.
PV: More than a month after the implementation of Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) regulating extra classes and tutoring, there are still some disruptions. Teachers, parents, and students are still accustomed to the old teaching and learning methods that have been in place for many years. How do you view and evaluate this issue?
Mr. Dang Tu An: Circular 29 has been in effect for just over a month, a period far too short compared to the more than 10 years of widespread and negative tutoring activities. Many experts consider Circular 29 a breakthrough aimed at restoring order and discipline in teaching and learning within schools. The change in mindset to adapt requires time; it cannot happen immediately, allowing schools and society to make appropriate adjustments in response to the current negative situation of tutoring.
Despite Circular 29's clear regulations, circumvention of the law still persists. Some teachers still find ways to have relatives register tutoring businesses under their names and lure students to these centers. Many worry that students will once again be drawn into the cycle of extra tutoring.
Circular 29 clearly and specifically regulates tutoring and supplementary classes both inside and outside of school. However, parents' understanding is still incorrect and has not kept pace with educational reforms, so they still cling to the idea of sending their children to extra classes. Learning to accumulate knowledge and focusing on exams and high grades is outdated and not in line with current trends. Tutoring essentially involves students doing math and essay assignments already taught in class. Therefore, tutoring today is essentially just skill-building to achieve high scores in exams. Where there is demand, there is supply; when tutoring within schools is restricted, students seek out external facilities. Thus, tutoring is being distorted as teachers and students move outside of school to legitimize this activity. Some teachers even continue to provide tutoring within schools, openly claiming it's free and not charging students. I believe that democratic and widespread discussion within schools is necessary to foster correct understanding and subsequently change behavior. Managing extracurricular tutoring within schools is much easier than managing it outside of schools. Local authorities at all levels need to get involved to support education and work with schools to effectively implement Circular 29.
Do you think that the pressure of attending public schools is the reason why students and parents have been trapped in the cycle of extra tutoring for so long?
The private school system is characterized by its favorable conditions for pioneering educational innovation. Furthermore, they have financial autonomy and a high degree of independence in school administration. They can terminate contracts with teachers if they fail to meet contractual commitments. The public school system, still heavily reliant on subsidies, sees many teachers maintaining a lifelong civil servant mindset. Public school teachers, receiving salaries from the state, must fulfill their responsibilities in teaching the main curriculum. This means guiding students in self-learning skills and fostering their potential. Public school students benefit from free education provided by the state, and therefore must cultivate character and develop a lifelong learning style. Tutoring and supplementary classes are the individual needs of teachers and students and cannot be conflated with public assets. The country is transforming to enter a new era. Principals, teachers, and students in public schools need to proactively adapt to the nation's daily development.
Encouraging students to learn independently is not a new topic. In your opinion, what are the requirements for the teacher's role in encouraging students to learn independently?
It can be affirmed that the Education Law and documents from the Party, the National Assembly , the Government, and the Ministry of Education and Training all emphasize and value teaching students self-reliance and self-learning skills. Teachers play a crucial role in cultivating these skills in students. They are facilitators, role models, and creators of a self-learning environment for students. Schools need to guide students on learning methods and orient their self-learning abilities. Developing self-reliance skills should be done regularly and begin early in primary school. The habit of attending extra classes can reduce children's independent thinking abilities, making them passive and dependent on others. Extra classes can become a barrier, even negatively impacting the development of students' self-reliance and self-learning skills.
Do you believe that, in order to achieve the highest goal of education—improving the quality of formal teaching, helping teachers and students come to school with the right roles and responsibilities and feeling happy—it is first necessary to change the perceptions of adults, especially parents and teachers themselves?
As mentioned above, Circular 29 is a breakthrough, a new "gateway" to addressing the negative aspects of tutoring and supplementary classes that need to be addressed promptly to stabilize and restore a healthy school environment. This work requires coordinated efforts from the Ministry of Education and Training, various components of the school community, and society as a whole. Principals, teachers, students, and parents are the key stakeholders, playing a decisive role in the success or failure of this process, enthusiastically embracing and implementing Circular 29. Public schools, funded by the state budget and with tuition-free students, have a responsibility to perform their regular teaching duties well. Students must be trained to develop comprehensively and enhance their abilities so they can be self-reliant and independent in the future. Teachers are the ones who inspire students to learn.
Sir, along with the tuition fee exemption policy, Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training on tightening regulations on extra tutoring will help students benefit in two ways. Therefore, this is also one of the conditions that ensures a happy school environment?
It is true that high school students benefit from a double advantage: tuition-free education and the elimination of unreasonable fees for extra classes. The school environment is guaranteed and supported to the maximum extent for students.
The core of current educational reform is a strong shift from knowledge transmission to the formation and development of students' qualities and competencies. This means abandoning the old teaching method of emphasizing knowledge (teaching literacy) and replacing it with teaching students how to learn, life skills, physical training, and arts (teaching character). Therefore, the focus is on providing students with just enough knowledge, while allocating time to teaching and developing their competencies.
For a long time, tutoring and supplementary education have primarily focused on teaching literacy, providing immediate material benefits for the teachers. Furthermore, over the past five years, Vietnamese education has been overwhelmed and preoccupied with the need to replace textbooks, adapt teaching methods, and change student assessment approaches. With such daily pressure, teachers will not find happiness, and the happiness of students will remain a distant dream. This is a mistake, contradicting UNESCO's recommendation to transform schools globally towards the Happy School model.
Thank you very much, sir!
According to the Ministry of Education and Training's assessment, Circular 29, after one month of implementation, has had a positive impact on the awareness and actions of management levels, teachers, students, and parents. However, many schools abruptly stopped extracurricular classes when Circular 29 came into effect, affecting the psychology of students and parents – whereas they should have been prepared for this beforehand.
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tra-lai-gia-tri-dich-thuc-cho-giang-day-chinh-khoa-bai-cuoi-can-thay-doi-nhan-thuc-tu-nguoi-lon-10301830.html
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