Bringing extracurricular tutoring into a structured system.

Schools nationwide have temporarily suspended extracurricular classes, but are still awaiting official guidance to address the issues that have arisen.

Circular 29/2024 of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) regulating supplementary teaching and learning officially came into effect on February 14th.

"I'm at a loss" when I have to pick up my child early.

According to reporters, many schools in Hanoi have stopped offering extra classes. However, this has created some difficulties for parents.

According to regulations, students will only study for the duration prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training. For example, primary schools operate on a two-session-per-day schedule, with no more than seven lessons per day, a minimum of 32 lessons per week, and a maximum of 35 lessons per week. When extra classes for subjects with fees are removed, students will finish school around 3:30 PM. This causes concern for parents as they have to find ways to pick up and drop off their children before the end of the workday. "If the school cannot arrange other activities, picking up my child early will be very difficult for my family," said Mr. Nguyen Trung Dung, a parent with a child attending Yen Hoa Primary School (Cau Giay District, Hanoi).

Extracurricular tutoring after school hours is quite common nowadays. The photo was taken at a tutoring center in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of February 14th. Photo: TAN THANH

Similarly, in Ho Chi Minh City, while secondary school teachers (mainly high school teachers) quickly adapted to the new regulations, most primary school teachers are still confused. Having completely stopped tutoring before the Lunar New Year, Ms. THV, a primary school teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, said she is waiting for specific and detailed guidance from the Ministry of Education and Training. According to Ms. V., there are two options teachers can pursue: registering a business to provide tutoring at home, or registering with a licensed tutoring center.

Meanwhile, Ms. VA, a teacher at a high school in Binh Thanh District, said that she has been giving extra lessons at a tutoring center for a long time, so she is not too affected by the new regulations. However, for final-year students who attend regular classes at school and are still taking extra lessons at the center, the center will not charge any fees. "The number of these students is not large, and the center is trying to make arrangements because there are only a few months left in the school year," Ms. A. said.

Viet Duc High School (Cu Kuin district, Dak Lak province) has been organizing extra classes to reinforce knowledge and improve the quality of general education in all three grades for many years. When the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 29/2024, the school stopped organizing these extra classes. Mr. Hoang Van Thai, the school's Vice Principal, stated that the school has reviewed and compiled a list of students who are struggling with learning based on the results of the end-of-semester I exams and mock high school graduation exams to develop a plan for free extra classes. Students will register at the end of February 2025 for each subject in the graduation exam. The school will assign experienced teachers to provide maximum support to students, aiming for a 100% graduation rate.

Teachers and schools are struggling.

The principal of a primary school in Cau Giay district (Hanoi) said that the school is considering options to make things as convenient as possible for parents, such as arranging for teachers to supervise students after school hours. However, this requires the consent of both teachers and parents, as it must be done on a voluntary basis.

According to the head of a junior high school in Ba Dinh district (Hanoi), for many years, the school has always arranged for teachers to provide extra tutoring for gifted students outside of school hours to help them develop better, while also supplementing the knowledge of weaker students. With the new regulation, if they continue to organize extra tutoring outside of school hours, they cannot charge students, while the school currently lacks the necessary funding to cover this activity. "We sincerely hope for support from the state budget to cover the costs of teachers providing extra tutoring outside of school hours. This is a very legitimate request from the teachers," the school leader stated.

From the teachers' perspective, many believe that the campaign to provide free education for students is "not truly satisfactory," especially for young teachers with low salaries that are insufficient to cover their personal expenses.

Mr. Pham Dang Khoa, Head of the Education and Training Department of District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the unit is awaiting official guidance from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training to implement the regulations in educational institutions and among teachers. However, the unit had already previously disseminated the information to schools, reminding teachers to comply with the regulations in Circular 29/2024.

Notably, in Dak Lak province, following Circular 29/2024, hundreds of people registered business households to organize tutoring sessions, with many cases involving individuals acting as nominees for teachers.

At the one-stop service department of the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak province, Ms. TTH admitted to registering a business to help a teacher provide extra tutoring. Mr. NNT also registered a business to help his younger brother and a friend organize extra tutoring in Tan Loi ward, Buon Ma Thuot City.

According to statistics from the Planning and Finance Department of Buon Ma Thuot City, from December 2024 to the present, the unit has issued more than 300 business registration certificates for the education sector, specifically tutoring and supplementary classes, which are not yet classified elsewhere. Nearly 100 applications for business support in this sector are still under processing.

How should it be managed and supervised?

In Da Nang City, many schools have implemented Circular 29/2024; however, school principals complain about the difficulties of bearing primary responsibility.

Ms. Nguyen Tran Le Hong Trinh, Principal of Bui Thi Xuan Primary School (Lien Chieu District, Da Nang City), said that on the morning of February 14th, the school reiterated the implementation of Circular 29/2024 to ensure teachers were fully aware of the regulations. The school required teachers to sign commitments and conducted two on-site inspections at teachers' homes, finding no violations. Regarding teachers' tutoring activities at centers, the school does not have the authority to inspect them.

"The principal is primarily responsible for inspecting and supervising teachers during school hours, but supervising outside of school hours is too difficult. Even if teachers are found to be giving extra lessons at home and claim it's a free class, there's no basis for taking action," Ms. Trinh stated, highlighting the reality and proposing that additional supervisory responsibilities be assigned to local authorities.

According to Mr. Do Dinh Dao, Principal of Nguyen Huu Tho High School (District 4, Ho Chi Minh City), there are still some concerning situations, such as students wanting to take extra classes with their regular teachers but being denied access. Or, what if a student registers for extra classes at a tutoring center and is inadvertently placed in the same class taught by their regular teacher? "The principal cannot go to the tutoring center to see if any of the students are in the class that the teacher is currently teaching," Mr. Dao pointed out the difficulty.

Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, stated that the department's stance on cases of teachers violating regulations on tutoring is that there will be no exceptions or leniency. According to Mr. Minh, Circular 29/2024 does not prohibit tutoring, but will manage it more strictly, restoring dignity to the education sector. "The need for extra learning to develop oneself is legitimate for students, so tutoring is also a job. However, everything must be based on voluntariness and must comply with regulations," Mr. Minh emphasized.

The leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training emphasized that Circular 29/2024, which stipulates that teachers currently teaching at public schools are not allowed to organize or operate tutoring centers, is consistent with the provisions of the Law on Public Employees. Furthermore, teachers must teach the entire content of the regular class curriculum, so that students can develop self-learning abilities and avoid taking extra classes solely for the sake of a test or exam.

Talent classes can be organized.

Mr. Ho Tan Minh affirmed that the new regulation only prohibits primary school teachers from teaching additional academic subjects, but if they have the ability, they can still teach extracurricular subjects such as music, singing, dancing, drawing, calligraphy, etc. Primary schools can absolutely open sports and arts clubs for students to participate in after regular school hours, creating opportunities for parents who pick up their children late. "Primary school students only need to study academic subjects for two sessions at school; they need to develop other skills or talents for more comprehensive development," the representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training stated.

Mr. Ho Tan Minh also affirmed that schools still have the responsibility to review for exams for graduating students. Depending on the locality, there will be a roadmap and budget for organizing review sessions for graduating students and providing remedial classes for weak students.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dua-day-them-vao-khuon-kho-196250214214230475.htm