Let students go to school on Saturday morning: Think of the students!

It is no coincidence that many parents are upset and react to the fact that secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City have arranged the timetable for students to go to school on Saturday mornings instead of only studying from Monday to Friday as before.

Making students go to school on Saturday mornings takes away their time to rest, recharge, bond with family, and develop social skills... - Photo: NHU HUNG

Because forcing students to go to school on Saturday mornings takes away their time to rest, recharge, bond with family, develop social skills...

In theory, the school is not wrong because it has followed the new regulation on teaching two sessions/day of the Ministry of Education and Training: maximum 11 sessions per week.

One of the goals of the Ministry of Education and Training when issuing this regulation is to reduce academic pressure for students (maximum of seven classes per day, instead of eight like the previous school year).

But the mechanical application of schools not only loses its good meaning but also increases the pressure of studying for students when they have to go to school on weekends.

Not to mention the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that the general education program only has 29 periods/week for students in grades 6 and 7 and 29.5 periods/week for students in grades 8 and 9.

It turns out that schools teach two shifts a day, seven periods a day, from Monday to Friday, which is 35 periods, which is 5.5 - 6 periods more than the regulation. Why do we force students to go to school on Saturday mornings?

The root of the problem is the "school curriculum", which is STEM/STEAM education, life skills, financial education; digital literacy education, artificial intelligence, learning English with native teachers, learning IT according to international standards...

In addition to organizing teaching and learning according to the content of the general education program, the Ministry of Education and Training allows educational institutions to implement school programs, creating conditions for students to develop comprehensively.

In Ho Chi Minh City, most school programs are implemented by schools in collaboration with outside partners and parents have to pay separate fees. These subjects do not have tests, student evaluations or teaching effectiveness.

In many documents, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City always reminds educational institutions that when implementing school programs, "they must have the voluntary consent of parents". But in reality, some parents have had to "voluntarily" do so under duress.

And even if they don't want to, they still have to grit their teeth and pay for their children to study the school program if they don't want their children to be discriminated against.

In the 2025-2026 school year, some secondary schools have included too many subjects and lessons in the school curriculum in the timetable, leading to a total of more than 35 lessons per week. As a result, students have to go to school on Saturday mornings.

In the above context, it is necessary to have a specific and clear regulation on the maximum number of subjects and lessons per week each grade can study in the school curriculum; it is necessary to have an official document with detailed instructions on teaching two sessions per day for each type of school and class.

Saturday morning schooling - which is fundamentally a school program - should not be allowed to erode the trust many parents have in the education sector.

Think of the students!

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HOANG HUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-hoc-sinh-di-hoc-sang-thu-bay-hay-nghi-den-hoc-sinh-20250910083159084.htm