Saturday off, how do schools arrange?

Many schools in localities across the country have implemented Official Dispatch No. 4567 of the Ministry of Education and Training on instructions for organizing 2 sessions/day for general education and giving students Saturdays off.

Outdoor experiential learning hour of students at Phan Huy Chu High School - Dong Da ( Hanoi ) - Photo: HUY TRAN

At Yen Hoa High School (Hanoi), giving students Saturdays off has been applied for many years, although the number of classrooms in the school is still not enough to meet the needs of each class/classroom.

Stick to the requirements

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, Vice Principal of Yen Hoa High School, shared: Closely following the content and requirements of the program to design teaching content. This content includes both in-class and out-of-class teaching, teaching theory and practice, experience, arranging, building teaching topics instead of teaching separate subject content, guiding students to carry out projects, learning topics in a combination of online and offline forms...

This is a way for schools to "save time" but still ensure program requirements and aim for teaching methods that develop students' abilities and qualities.

To do this, according to Ms. Thuy, the role of the professional team is very important. The professional team will meet, discuss and synthesize teachers' opinions and suggestions to build the subject program for each grade. Depending on the program and the characteristics of the subject, calculate how much time students spend in class, outside of class, and what part is taught through practice, experience, and learning projects.

Although many teaching methods can be applied, the principle must still adhere to the requirements of the program, ensuring that final year students are qualified to pass the exams.

Based on the department's proposal, facilities, teachers, socialization situation (cooperative relationship with units for students to practice, experience, etc.), the professional group develops a subject teaching plan, on that basis, develops the school's education plan for the school year.

"The professional groups at my school are very proactive in designing and proposing teaching plans. In previous years, when we first started, many people were hesitant and worried, but once we started and were able to do it, everyone was excited. In the years that the program was implemented, superiors also came to check to ensure that the school did not cut corners in the program.

The rate of students graduating and entering university every year is stable, so parents are also assured. The positive thing is that many students have two days off to participate in extracurricular activities, interdisciplinary activities, talent activities, sports ..." - Ms. Thuy said.

Phan Huy Chu High School - Dong Da (Hanoi) is also a high school that is giving students Saturday and Sunday off. Sharing this, Ms. Ngo Thi Thanh - Vice Principal - said: "Our school is a high-quality school, with enough facilities for each class so that students can study 2 sessions/day, so it is convenient for students to study only 5 sessions/week.

However, in the process of exchanging and consulting with some teachers in other places, I still see that building a good school education program can make the most of facilities and teachers, and make teaching more effective. For example, building teaching topics in one subject, interdisciplinary, diversifying forms and learning spaces. Even combining online and offline.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhiep, principal of Chu Van An High School for the Gifted (Hanoi), said that this year the school is under construction and renovation so it has to temporarily arrange classes on Saturdays, whereas in previous years students had Saturdays and Sundays off.

"The program is arranged and adjusted in a more flexible and effective way, which will save actual teaching time in class, and alternate different teaching methods between grades. Having Saturdays off creates a creative space and a space to recreate creativity that is very good for both teachers and students" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhiep shared.

Many localities have applied

Lao Cai is a mountainous locality in the North that has implemented teaching 5 sessions/week since 5 years ago and has maintained it until now, but only at primary and secondary school levels.

Ha Tinh has implemented it since the previous school year with secondary school students (primary school students have implemented it before due to the conditions to teach 2 sessions/day).

Phu Tho province has implemented teaching 5 sessions/week (including subjects, educational activities, extracurricular activities) for grades 6, 7, 8 (junior high school) and 10, 11 (high school). The final grades (grades 9, 12) still have to study on Saturdays to give students more time to review.

The leader of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho said that schools must have the consensus and agreement of cadres, teachers, employees, students and parents to ensure the correct and complete implementation of the main curriculum content, not overloading students and teachers, and ensuring quality.

The Department of Education and Training of this province requires schools to develop a reasonable school education plan, including subject teaching and educational activities during and outside of regular school hours.

In the new school year, Ninh Binh province will continue to implement 5 sessions/week (off Saturday and Sunday) in some secondary and high schools. This has been piloted since the previous school year in Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh (before the province was merged)...

Students and parents highly agree

According to Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, the school also surveyed parents and students and got high consensus.

"Saturdays, students can devote their time to interdisciplinary subjects and experiences outside of school. Many students spend their two weekends studying talents, foreign languages, and sports, and families can easily arrange their own programs.

Students get to rest, learn what they need, or have more time with their parents and family, and have more positive energy for the new week of effective study and work."

Need to give more initiative to schools

According to the reflection of many principals in Hanoi and other localities, to better implement this in the conditions of insufficient facilities, it is necessary to give more initiative to schools to be flexible with the principle of ensuring the correct and complete curriculum. In addition, there needs to be synchronization and consistency in the directive documents.

"The new guidelines for teaching 2 sessions/day issued by the Ministry of Education and Training are quite rigid in defining "session 1" and "session 2", in which session 1 implements the compulsory program (issued by the Ministry of Education and Training), and session 2 implements other activities.

This regulation takes away the initiative and flexibility of schools in arranging teaching to make the most of the conditions and forms of teaching. This makes it difficult for schools and it is also difficult to allow students to have 2 days off on weekends" - a principal in Hanoi commented.

VINH HA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nghi-hoc-thu-bay-cac-truong-sap-xep-ra-sao-20250913232701338.htm