In light of this situation, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has requested schools to arrange reasonable timetables to reduce academic pressure, while also creating opportunities for students to rest and participate in extracurricular activities.
Parents are worried.
Right in the first week of the new school year, many parents of junior high school students were surprised when their children had to attend school on Saturdays, instead of just Friday afternoons as before. Ms. PTN, a parent with a child in 7th grade at Huynh Khuong Ninh Junior High School (Tan Dinh ward), said that last school year her child had two sessions a day from Monday to Friday and Saturday off. However, this year, her child has to attend five extra classes on Saturday mornings, and the dismissal time has also changed, causing difficulties in dropping off and picking up the child.
“Last year, my child finished school at 5 PM, and I usually picked her up between 5:30 PM and 5:45 PM due to traffic. This year, she finishes school at 4:15 PM and has extra classes on Saturday mornings. The commute is very difficult. I think Saturdays should be for children to rest, learn skills or talents, or prepare for lessons. I hope the school will make flexible arrangements to make it convenient for both students and parents,” Ms. N shared.
Similarly, Ms. NHP, whose child attends Hoa Lu Secondary School (Tang Nhon Phu Ward), said that Saturday morning classes disrupted her child's daily routine and English learning schedule. "Previously, my child only studied from Monday to Friday, and on weekends, she had extra English classes and played sports . The extra classes on Saturdays affect the development of her talents and abilities. I hope the school will arrange a more reasonable timetable," Ms. P. said.
Review and rearrange flexibly.
Many secondary school leaders said that timetables are being adjusted according to the new guidelines from the Ministry of Education and Training: a minimum of 5 school days per week, a maximum of 11 sessions, and no more than 7 lessons per day.
However, many parents have complained that supplementary classes such as STEM, life skills, and English with native speakers are socialized programs that require separate fees. Therefore, they suggest that schools schedule these classes on weekends so that students who register can attend school, while others have their own free time.
Ms. Lam Hong Lam Thuy, Head of the Department of General Education (Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training), said: “We have received many complaints from parents and have requested schools to review and arrange timetables appropriately, limiting classes on Saturdays, especially at a time when the new school year has just begun. Therefore, we have asked schools to review and arrange schedules flexibly to ensure that it does not cause public dissatisfaction.”
However, according to Ms. Thuy, in reality, not all primary and secondary schools have the resources to organize two sessions per day. If possible, schools should limit Saturday classes. Some schools have flexibly shifted Saturday learning activities to self-study sessions or online learning. This is a worthwhile approach to consider.
According to Ms. Thuy, Ho Chi Minh City has issued a list of educational activities and support services that are allowed to collect fees from socialized funding sources. However, not all schools are required to implement all of these activities. The selection process needs to be appropriate, avoid creating pressure, prevent over-reliance on all services, and avoid forcing all students to participate.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has nearly 500 secondary schools with approximately 760,000 students, of which more than 93% of schools in the former Ho Chi Minh City area have implemented a two-session-per-day teaching schedule. Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, stated that the current difficulty lies in the lack of consensus on organizing Saturday morning classes.
One of the reasons is a misunderstanding of the Ministry of Education and Training's regulation of "no more than 7 lessons/day." According to Mr. Quoc, most junior high schools in Ho Chi Minh City teach two sessions per day. In addition to the 29-29.5 lessons per week according to the main curriculum, schools also have integrated lessons such as STEM, life skills, English with native teachers, international computer science, etc. These contents are not part of the main curriculum, so they can be arranged flexibly, up to a maximum of 8 lessons/day. Scheduling 4 lessons in the morning and 4 lessons in the afternoon would be convenient for parents to drop off and pick up their children.
"Schools need to be flexible between the Ministry of Education and Training's curriculum and the school's own program, but students shouldn't have to attend classes on Saturdays. If Saturdays are necessary, they should be used for nurturing gifted students, providing remedial instruction for weaker students, or organizing voluntary sports clubs," Mr. Quoc emphasized.
Mr. Cao Duc Khoa, Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), said that according to the Ministry of Education and Training's curriculum framework, grades 6 and 7 study 29 lessons per week, and grades 8 and 9 study 29.5 lessons per week. Subjects such as STEM, life skills, international informatics, digital citizenship, native English... are part of the school's program, in collaboration with external institutions. If only about 5-6 lessons per week are taught, there is no need to spread them out to Saturday mornings.
Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, informed: "Last week, many schools arranged their timetables inappropriately, causing students to finish school at 3 PM or 3:30 PM, creating difficulties for parents."
The Department will soon issue specific guidelines on school start and end times for each educational level. It is expected that students will attend school from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM at the latest, and finish school from 10:30 AM onwards; afternoon classes will end no earlier than 4:30 PM.”
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/han-che-hoc-thu-bay-giam-ap-luc-cho-hoc-sinh-post748125.html
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