Tightening controls on tutoring and extra classes: Schools are struggling.

TP - From February 14th, Circular 29 regulating supplementary teaching and learning issued by the Ministry of Education and Training came into effect. However, some new regulations have caused confusion among schools, requiring prompt guidance from the Department of Education and Training.

TP - From February 14th, Circular 29 regulating supplementary teaching and learning issued by the Ministry of Education and Training came into effect. However, some new regulations have caused confusion among schools, requiring prompt guidance from the Department of Education and Training.

Stop many extra classes.

A number of schools have sent notices to parents announcing the suspension of supplementary classes held within the school. Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, whose child attends a junior high school in Hanoi , said that previously, his children had two supplementary English classes in the afternoon. Starting this week, the classes have stopped, and the children will finish school at 3:30 PM. Mr. Loi is worried that if the school cannot arrange other activities, his family will face difficulties in transporting their children to and from school.

Currently, schools are also struggling to figure out how to implement supplementary education for the majority of students. This is because, at present, schools only provide free supplementary education for students taking entrance exams who are at risk of failing to graduate.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong, Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Hanoi), said that since the beginning of February, all afternoon classes and review sessions for 9th-grade students have been temporarily suspended. The school will still ensure that the main curriculum is taught correctly and completely according to the plan. Ms. Huong said that when the Hanoi Department of Education and Training announces the third subject for the 10th-grade entrance exam, the school plans to provide free review sessions for all three subjects if students need them. The school will calculate the funding to support teachers in these sessions and may allocate funds from its regular operating budget to cover overtime pay.

Students taking the 2024 high school graduation exam in Hanoi. Photo: NHU Y

Ms. Nguyen Thi Boi Quynh, Principal of Viet Duc High School (Hanoi), said that the school did not encounter difficulties in implementing the circular on extra tutoring because it had long organized free tutoring and enrichment classes for gifted students, and review sessions for students taking the high school graduation exam. According to Ms. Quynh, the primary responsibility of teachers is to teach the required number of lessons; if they teach extra hours, the extra hours will be paid from the regular operating budget according to regulations. The school must base its internal spending regulations on the guiding documents, ensuring economical spending to have funds to pay for teachers' extra hours instead of collecting fees from students. However, the number of extra teaching hours is excessive.

Schools are awaiting answers to the question: if no fees are charged to students, what revenue will schools use to support teachers in providing review sessions for students?

Following the Prime Minister's directive, localities are providing appropriate financial support to schools to contribute to improving the quality of education . Therefore, localities need to provide specific guidance to schools for implementation, and teachers can also feel secure knowing they have the necessary funding to provide supplementary education for students.

Overlapping regulations

However, some regulations in Circular 29 are causing confusion for teachers and schools. Ms. Tran Bich Ha, an English teacher in Hanoi, is concerned because she signed a contract to teach at an English center, and the center handles all student recruitment. The program she teaches at the center uses different textbooks than the current textbooks used in her school. Therefore, she wonders if her additional work would be considered supplementary teaching and subject to the regulations in Circular 29, if the classes at the center include students she teaches at her school? Ms. Luong Thi Trinh, a Literature teacher in Nam Dinh, shared that since there are no cultural enrichment or supplementary teaching centers in her district, according to the new regulations, even if students from outside the school want to study, she is not allowed to organize classes.

Observations in Hanoi and some other localities show that, if Circular 29 is applied, secondary schools teaching two sessions per day may violate regulations. This is because, according to regulations of the People's Councils of provinces/cities, schools are allowed to collect fees for the second session as stipulated.

To comply with the circular, all schools have switched to teaching one session per day. If schools continue to teach two sessions per day (with fees charged), they must revise their activity plans, with parental consent and voluntary participation.

Since 2010, schools have continued to implement a two-session-per-day teaching schedule, in accordance with Circular 7291 of the Ministry of Education and Training, and have been charging fees for this. According to Circular 7291, the two-session-per-day teaching schedule includes educational activities tailored to the students' needs. Specifically, these include: organizing educational activities based on aptitude and interest groups, with each group potentially comprising students from different classes; providing tutoring, reinforcement, and review based on a thorough understanding of student abilities. Homeroom teachers, in coordination with subject teachers, compile lists of students based on academic performance (weak or strong students) for each subject, reporting to the principal for class organization and teacher assignment; and offering elective courses based on guidance documents from the Ministry of Education and Training, organizing students with similar aspirations and needs for elective subjects into elective classes that suit the school's actual conditions.

Meanwhile, Clause 1, Article 5 of Circular 29 stipulates that extra classes and tutoring within schools are not allowed to charge students and are only for students who register for extra classes in specific subjects as follows: students whose end-of-semester academic results in the subject are below the passing level; students selected by the school for advanced training; and final-year students who voluntarily register for entrance and graduation exam preparation according to the school's educational plan.

In accordance with Circular 29, from February 14th, schools are prohibited from collecting fees for organizing two-session-per-day teaching for students requiring remedial instruction, consolidation, and review of knowledge as per Official Letter 7291.

School leaders proposed solutions to ensure the proper implementation of Circular 29, including reviewing teaching plans and separating extracurricular teaching and learning activities from the main curriculum. They suggested organizing extracurricular activities to develop students' competencies and skills, rather than simply reinforcing and supplementing knowledge. Furthermore, schools would seek the consent of parents and students regarding extracurricular activities. To implement this, schools need specific guidance from higher-level management.

NGHIEM HUE

Source: https://tienphong.vn/siet-day-them-hoc-them-cac-truong-lung-tung-post1715916.tpo