Rectifying extra teaching and learning to innovate education

Many delegates were concerned about the issue of extra teaching and learning when questioning Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son on June 19.

Students leave after extra classes in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NHU HUNG

Many things are not enough, so we have to teach and learn more.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nga ( Quang Binh ) highly appreciated Circular 29 and the Minister's direction, but this is not a perfect solution in the face of great pressure on achievements and social expectations. She asked the Minister to state the root cause and fundamental solution to this problem.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son frankly admitted: "The reason people need to study and teach more is because it is not enough, it is not enough so we have to add more, and there are many things that are not enough."

According to Mr. Son, the first thing that is not enough is that teachers' salaries are not enough to live on. Next, there are not enough schools so that students do not have to compete, especially in large cities, urban areas, and densely populated areas.

On the other hand, parents do not have enough confidence and do not feel satisfied when their children do not achieve high results. Even the innovation of teaching and learning and the program still needs to be done a lot in the near future. Or even principals, heads of universities, and teachers have not fulfilled their responsibilities of the main program.

"Because there are many things that are not enough, we still have to teach and learn more; the management and operating mechanism are also not enough, so that is the root of the problem," said Mr. Son.

According to Mr. Son, to solve this problem, theeducation sector advocates shifting from education that approaches knowledge provision to developing children's capacity, the soul of which is the 2018 General Education Program.

Over the past time, the industry has done a lot of work but still lacks many conditions to be able to implement. Therefore, Mr. Son believes that to solve the problem of extra teaching and learning, a series of comprehensive solutions are needed.

Private tutoring hinders innovation

Delegate Nguyen Van Huy ( Thai Binh ) said that improving the quality of formal school hours will be an important solution to overcome this situation. This needs to be accompanied by a review of the education program, consideration of the amount of knowledge and testing and evaluation methods...

Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that from a professional perspective, extra teaching and learning is a step, a part of a comprehensive system of education that accesses and equips knowledge.

Education equips knowledge with textbooks that package knowledge for transfer, teachers are the ones who impart knowledge, exams test knowledge and go along with that are exam preparation, sample essays, sample essays, sample math, math puzzles, memorization... and extra teaching and learning are a link in the chain of such a knowledge equipping system.

Therefore, if we continue to prolong teaching and pursuing knowledge, when facing an era of knowledge explosion, where human knowledge increases every day, pursuing knowledge like this will not innovate education and will face failure, and extra teaching and learning is the step that holds back, the step that preserves the old way of knowledge and hinders innovation.

From another perspective, delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) stated that every year, universities, especially non-public ones, compete to increase enrollment quotas in terms of quantity to generate revenue, without paying attention to training quality, so many students cannot find jobs after graduation and have to give up their major, even post-graduate studies, to find work.

In return, Mr. Son asked the delegates to cite specific examples of which schools had recruited many students and which schools had recruited more students than their quotas, and said that the industry had also imposed administrative sanctions on some schools that recruited more students than their quotas.

According to Mr. Son, the education sector does not encourage schools to pursue quantity. On the contrary, it strictly and rigorously requires training quality in both public and private schools.

Education takes time

According to Mr. Son, education needs to shift to a STEM approach, helping children learn and expand their knowledge. Extra teaching only consolidates knowledge and brings little value to comprehensive development. Teachers need to fulfill their responsibilities, apply new methods, and not be too busy with extra teaching.

Each year, the exam is also adjusted to assess students' abilities according to the 2018 General Education Program, minimizing tricky questions and tricks that make it difficult for students in exam preparation centers. The exam is aimed at assessing thinking ability but needs to be adjusted step by step to suit the learning process. Education needs time, sudden changes will not be effective.

Delegates were satisfied with the minister's response.

As a delegate who asked questions and debated after the answer of Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son, speaking to Tuoi Tre, delegate Tran Thi Le Thuy (Ben Tre) said she was quite satisfied with Mr. Son's answer. According to Ms. Thuy, the report sent before the questioning had stated many very specific and clear contents, and the minister's answer was also quite close to the issue raised by the delegate.

As someone who also debated with Minister Nguyen Kim Son on the issue of prioritizing human resource training, especially for people in remote areas, and researching and advising against building universities in remote areas, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) also expressed basic satisfaction.

He shared that this time the minister "spoke" more coherently, clearly, and confidently than in previous times. He assessed that the questions from the delegates on education and training were difficult, but most of them were answered quite satisfactorily by the minister. Therefore, the delegates were very satisfied and will continue to follow the question-and-answer session this morning, June 20.

T.LONG - N.AN - T.CHUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chan-chinh-day-them-hoc-them-de-doi-moi-giao-duc-20250620085135963.htm