Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education (Ministry of Education and Training) said that schools should be responsible for not offering extra classes.
On December 30, 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 29 regulating extra teaching and learning, with many new points that are said to overcome the shortcomings and negative aspects of this chronic disease that has long heated up public opinion.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education , clarified issues related to new regulations on extra teaching and learning.
Eliminate the situation of extra classes to 'please' teachers
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education. (Photo: Ministry of Education and Training)
- Sir, why does the Ministry of Education and Training limit 3 groups of people to teach extra classes in schools and not collect money from students? When implemented in practice, will it cause difficulties for schools and teachers?
Extra teaching and learning are based on the needs of both students and teachers. However, through monitoring and understanding the reality, we see that there are students who have the need and voluntarily take extra classes, but there are also students who, even though they do not want to, still take extra classes organized by their own teachers and schools. Some students go to extra classes because they do not want to be left out from their friends, do not feel guilty towards their teachers, or just to get used to a type of test.
The Ministry of Education and Training does not prohibit extra teaching but seeks the cause to have a suitable and effective management plan. For general schools applying the 2018 general education program, the Ministry of Education and Training has specified the number of periods/subject, and set out requirements for each subject that are suitable for students. The Ministry of Education and Training also gives schools the autonomy to develop educational plans to ensure the quality of education.
Thus, in principle, schools and teachers who implement class hours according to regulations can ensure students have the amount of knowledge and meet the requirements of the educational program.
The new point in this circular is that the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates three subjects that teach and study extra in schools but are not allowed to collect money from students, including: students whose subject learning results are not at the required level; students selected by the school to nurture excellent students; students reviewing for graduation exams and entrance exams.
Regarding the reasons, firstly , with that program and that team, if there are still students who have not met the requirements, the school must be responsible for providing extra teaching (also known as knowledge remediation).
Second, is to teach extra classes for selected students to nurture excellent students. This number is not many and not all selected students in all subjects are also the responsibility of the school.
Third, 9th and 12th grade students are allowed to take extra classes at school to prepare for the transfer exam and graduation exam. However, the organization of review classes for final year students must be part of the school's educational plan, and the school must actively decide, arrange, and organize it, and must not collect money from students.
With this regulation, instead of complaining about problems, schools can arrange teachers in charge of subjects in a reasonable way to reserve for exam review, helping students consolidate and summarize knowledge. For any subject, extra teaching should not exceed 2 periods/week. In addition, teachers need to guide students on self-study and self-discovery methods to absorb the content learned in class, avoiding the situation of extra learning in a way that forces knowledge, which is not effective.
In addition to the three groups above, after school hours, to avoid rampant extra teaching and learning, schools need to organize many fun activities, sports training, drawing, music , etc. for students to enthusiastically participate. I believe that those who work in the profession, are passionate about their profession, and the younger generation will find this extremely necessary. Parents and society need to aim for that, to help students not to take too many extra classes.
High schools can arrange teachers in charge of subjects appropriately to reserve time for exam review, helping students consolidate and summarize knowledge. (Photo: Nhu Y)
Studying more does not make you good.
- Schools and parents still place great importance on achievements and scores in exams. Is the regulation "banning" extra classes in schools inconsistent with the actual requirements for quality and scores, sir?
With the current requirement that tests, assessments, and exams must follow the general requirements of the education program, parents have long been afraid that their children will be at a disadvantage compared to their classmates if they do not study, so they continue to pursue it even though they are not sure whether this extra study is effective or not.
On the contrary, in the exams, it was shown that many valedictorians and salutatorians came from rural areas with difficult economic conditions and did not attend extra classes at all. It is not satisfactory to say that the school did not organize review sessions, the quality decreased, or that it did not organize mass review sessions for all students/classes to achieve good scores.
Not to mention, when it is a national regulation, localities must implement it equally, fairly and without worrying too much, putting too much emphasis on the issue and then arranging classes for students to practice for the exam in the morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. We need to overcome the situation where students go to school every day with a schedule from morning to night, without time to rest, self-study, absorb, and apply knowledge.
- Extra study and extra teaching are the needs of both teachers and students. Parents are worried that when the regulations have "tightened" content in schools, it will have to spread to centers with expensive costs and more difficult travel?
The new circular stipulates a number of important contents: organizations and individuals that organize extra teaching and learning for students must register their business according to the law; teachers who are teaching at schools are not allowed to teach extra classes outside of school and collect money from their students in class... This regulation aims to ensure the rights of students, avoiding teachers "pulling" students in class to teach extra classes.
If you are not in the category of students who need to take extra classes at school, then any student who wishes to take extra classes outside of school is completely voluntary. At that time, parents and students will research and consider the value of extra classes, whether they can help them progress and understand the problem more deeply or not.
Studying to be better and develop yourself is a legitimate desire, so the Ministry of Education and Training does not prohibit it. However, organizations and individuals who teach extra classes must register their business and must publicize the location, subjects, study time, costs, etc. and must strictly comply with the provisions of the law on working hours, working hours, safety, security, fire prevention, etc. At that time, students and parents will choose any place that makes students and parents trust and meets their requirements.
The regulation is like that, but to be effective, there must be a monitoring mechanism and the roles and responsibilities of management agencies. The Circular has clearly defined the responsibilities of each unit from the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Education and Training to schools, People's Committees of wards and communes in the area for inspection and supervision.
- As you said, to move towards schools without extra teaching and learning, and more broadly, an education sector and society without extra learning, what solutions are needed?
I think there are two issues: legal regulations and public awareness. The management agency has specific regulations, but public awareness is very important. Granted, there is still pressure from passing exams and university entrance exams. Everyone wants their children to get into a good school, and that is a legitimate need of each person.
However, parents today have a clearer understanding of the value of human development. Knowledge is a vast ocean, we need to focus on learning methods instead of trying to learn a lot but not bringing practical results. There have been situations where students in a certain stage of exam preparation, cram to exhaustion to pass the exam and then relax. Or in reality, there are also many children when they grow up and live a life with enough knowledge but are disadvantaged due to a lack of many skills.
Thank you!
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/siet-quy-dinh-day-them-hoc-them-bo-gd-dt-ly-giai-ar919248.html
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