Extra classes should be voluntary.

Học thêm - Ảnh 1. — Students leave class at a tutoring center in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NHU HUNG

Tuoi Tre reporters recorded the opinions of students, parents, teachers, administrators, andeducation experts after the minister's response.

* Mr. Huynh Thanh Phu (Principal of Bui Thi Xuan High School, Ho Chi Minh City):

Minister shares accurately and multi-dimensionally

I find Minister Nguyen Kim Son's sharing at the recent National Assembly about the issue of extra teaching and learning to be extremely accurate and multi-dimensional.

From a manager's perspective, I think tutoring and tutoring are not entirely negative. The best aspect, and undeniable, is knowledge.

High school students who take extra classes will have more or less knowledge than they would have if they did not take them. And I believe that there is no teacher who teaches extra classes but does not teach anything, or does not bring any value beyond regular school hours.

What needs to be tightened is the cases of extra teaching in disguise. That is, we need to find a way to stop the situation where teachers force students to take extra classes. In my opinion, this is not difficult. We just need to receive opinions from students and increase the maximum level of sanctions when violations are discovered, even possibly expelling teachers who violate the law. With a strong enough level of sanctions, teachers will not dare to be negative or put pressure on students anymore.

If that can be done, I don’t think there’s even a need for a regulation that prohibits teachers from teaching their own students. Because in my opinion, that’s restricting students’ freedom to choose their teachers. Many students love and trust good teachers, many of whom are the ones who are directly teaching them in class.

* Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh (former head of the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Training):

Relieve exam pressure

I think we need to honestly acknowledge that the pressure for extra classes in students stems from the pressure of exams. After all, Vietnamese students want to take extra classes to do well in exams, to get good scores in important exams.

In high school, the two exams that cause the most pressure are the high school graduation exam for 12th graders and the 10th grade entrance exam for 9th graders. The closer the exam is, the greater the pressure to study extra. Therefore, if we want to untie the knot of studying extra, we must start from the exams themselves.

With the high school graduation exam, I see that in recent years, because there are more university admission methods, the pressure has decreased significantly compared to before.

However, in my opinion, this exam still needs to continue to innovate and diversify the way students are evaluated. The exam should not be too theoretical but should test thinking and application ability. Similar to the national university capacity assessment exam, the exam focuses on real ability, not on who practices more questions. If this is done, the pressure of extra study will be greatly reduced.

* Ms. Do Thi Huong (parent in Hanoi ):

Look at the root of the problem

I have a child who is preparing for the entrance exam and has to study a lot. I have been following the Minister's questioning session for the past few days but feel that his explanation has not solved the root of the problem.

The most obvious is that the number of students in each class is quite large, not equivalent to the teaching hours/lessons. My child's class has 48 students and each lesson lasts 45 minutes.

Just by dividing the average, we can see that this distribution is very difficult. Teachers cannot convey all the knowledge to 48 students so that they can understand the lesson. Instead, they only teach enough content according to the regulations, which is one-way.

Furthermore, my child is at the top of his class, has good self-study ability, but there are still days when he doesn't understand the lesson. He realizes this and asks me to let him take extra classes. This comes from the student's own needs.

It is clear that the teacher still teaches the assigned content but the students do not understand. While they are forced to learn and understand in order to apply the lesson and serve the exam. Adding a second class is good but I am wondering what to teach.

For example, my child needs to focus on three main subjects when taking the 10th grade entrance exam. Will schools add a second class to teach the subjects students need or will they create extracurricular subjects that are not true to the actual needs of students and parents?

If we ban extra classes, I think it would be best to abolish the entrance exam for grade 10 and provide enough schools for all students. This would ensure equal access to education for all students, regardless of grade level in general education.

* Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Thu (literature teacher at Nguyen Trai High School, Ninh Thuan):

Prepare well for teaching 2 sessions

I completely agree with the minister's opinion on teaching two sessions at all levels from September 2025.

Not only teaching students knowledge, these second classes aim to train students in physical education, sports, music, fine arts, improve foreign language skills, self-study, teamwork, life skills, and support... However, I think many issues are still left open, even though there are only two months left for this implementation.

Firstly, many schools currently do not have enough facilities for activities held during the second school day. Not to mention schools in remote areas, even many schools in the city do not have multi-purpose sports halls, so how can we achieve efficiency in extracurricular and skills training activities?

Second is the issue of human resources. In gifted and skilled subjects, a large number of specialized teachers are needed. Are schools able to ensure this? Furthermore, many teachers cannot arrange their time to teach all day. If we follow the viewpoint of not charging for second lessons, the issue of mobilizing human resources and arranging them in a way that is most convenient for the teaching staff is also a difficult problem.

Therefore, we need a great support from educational units and local authorities. Furthermore, we look forward to the help of all departments and sectors to create a combined strength for a sustainable, advanced and long-term education.

* NTN (12th grade student in Ho Chi Minh City):

Hope tutoring becomes more equitable

I think that taking extra classes is not necessarily bad. Many of my classmates take extra classes because they really want to understand the lessons better, because sometimes the class time is not enough for the teacher to explain everything. There are advanced sections or difficult exercises, if we don’t take extra classes, we won’t know who to ask.

I myself have taken extra math and literature classes, and I found them effective. But I also know that many students are pressured by the fear that if they don't study, they won't be able to keep up. In my opinion, extra classes should be a voluntary choice. What matters is the way of studying and the teacher. If the teacher is good and inspiring, then extra classes are an opportunity for you to improve, not a burden.

I hope that schools and society will find a way to make extra classes more fair and positive, not forcing anyone, nor completely banning them because everything has two sides.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoc-them-nen-la-tu-nguyen-20250622080452933.htm