Blocking extra tutoring under false pretenses: Parents request hotline and cross-check

Lax management before the explosion of tutoring centers

Before being suspended according to the decision of the inspection team including the Dong Da Department of Education and Training, the People's Committee of Lang Thuong Ward - Dong Da, Hanoi and the security unit, the Vietnam - Russia Cultural Training Center was reported to have rented a private house that did not meet fire prevention and fighting conditions, and had cramped classrooms to teach extra classes outside of class hours to secondary school students, mainly from Lang Thuong Secondary School.

Interviewing a student here, this student said that the class at the center has more than 30 students, all of whom are classmates with him. The extra classes take place in quite cramped conditions and the content of the extra classes is no different from before when the regulation prohibited teachers from giving extra classes to students in their regular classes. Parents also reported that they cannot help but send their children to school despite the increased tuition fees when they have to go to the center because they are afraid that their children will be inferior to their friends if they do not take extra classes with high competition requirements to pass the public 10th grade exam.

Academic pressure has forced many students to take extra classes. Illustration: TA

The temporary closure of a cultural training center has made many parents of students speak out in anger, saying that they have not yet had time to rejoice over Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training restricting the widespread practice of extra teaching and learning, forcing them to study with teachers in class to get good grades, but they have had to run to centers where the same teachers from the school teach, but the only difference is that they are not teachers directly teaching the class.

"If the education sector really cares, it can regularly inspect the operations of newly opened tutoring centers to see if they comply with regulations, not to mention tutoring classes at people's homes, instead of just handling them after complaints like this. Regulations are issued but there are no management measures, so parents and students will only suffer and have to follow these distorted tutoring methods," said Mai Lan Anh, a parent of a student in Dong Da district, Hanoi.

The fact that the education sector is "powerless" in not being able to "manage" all cultural training centers has been acknowledged by the leaders of the Department of Education and Training in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In Hanoi, after Circular 29 took effect, 15,000 centers and businesses related to tutoring and extra learning were opened. In Ho Chi Minh City, there are also about 10,000 establishments operating in this field, causing educational management levels to not have enough human resources to manage them.

There needs to be a channel to receive feedback on the transformation of extra-curricular activities.

In response to Hanoi temporarily suspending the operation of a center with nearly 600 students registered for extra classes only after the press spoke up, parents also sent many feedbacks to the Ministry of Education and Training and said that the Ministry needs to have an official information channel to receive feedback on illegal activities of extra teaching and learning in the locality and arrange cross-checking to avoid cover-ups, cursory handling, and abandonment.

Regarding the effective management of extracurricular teaching activities, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City has recently officially launched the information portal for managing extracurricular teaching and learning at the address: dtht.hcm.edu.vn. Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, said that through the information portal for managing extracurricular teaching and learning, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City will monitor and manage extracurricular teaching and learning activities according to regulations.

Management will include the role of local People's Committees in managing detailed information of tutoring centers in the area and supervising the activities of the centers, ensuring compliance with regulations. Tutoring centers will organize, register, monitor and manage tutoring activities according to regulations. Schools will monitor and manage information of teachers and students registering for tutoring in schools. Parents will be able to learn and register for tutoring online at licensed facilities through the tutoring information portal.

Notably, with this portal, the Department of Education and Training plans to compile statistics on violations of regulations on extra teaching and learning for each case of teacher and extra teaching and learning center. From there, there will be a form of handling according to regulations.

Currently, localities have been developing specific regulations on the management of extra teaching and learning in their localities. The Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that this regulation is in the process of being developed, receiving opinions and will soon be submitted to the City People's Committee for approval and promulgation.

Most recently, on April 24, 2025, the People's Committee of Ninh Binh province officially issued regulations on extra teaching and learning. Accordingly, the province stipulates that extra teaching facilities must arrange each extra class with no more than 40 students; extra teaching and learning must not be organized on holidays and Tet holidays in the year according to Government regulations.

Extra teaching and learning time must not be organized before 7:00, from 11:30 to 13:30, and after 21:30 every day. Each extra class must not last more than 2 hours a day, and there must be time for students to rest in between sessions. Expenses for extra teaching and learning activities, according to regulations, include the following: expenses for direct tutors; expenses for management of extra teaching and learning; expenses for conditions to ensure operations and repair and supplement facilities for extra teaching and learning at educational institutions or extra teaching facilities. The People's Committee of Ninh Binh province stipulates that the responsibility of school principals is to update and publicize the list of teachers of the unit participating in extra teaching outside the school on the school's electronic information page, including the full name of the teacher, the subject taught, the name and address of the facilities participating in extra teaching.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/chan-day-them-bien-tuong-phu-huynh-de-nghi-cung-cap-duong-day-nong-va-kiem-tra-cheo-20250424182354986.htm