The school specializes in training talented people, not 'fighting cocks'.

Dr. Dam Quang Minh: What are specialized schools for?

The concern that specialized schools are too caught up in training teams of excellent students to achieve results in national and international exams is also something that the Ministry of Education and Training has recognized and affirmed that in the coming time, this model will "absolutely not chase after achievements and applications".

It is unclear where the students of specialized schools go.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Education and Training by 2022 on the model of specialized high schools: Although the qualityof education of specialized schools has been improved, the results of key training have been enhanced, the specialized school system still shows limitations such as: the construction of educational plans of schools in some places still emphasizes the organization of training teams of excellent students, not much enhancing students' practical skills, experiments, scientific research and other soft skills. The advanced foreign programs brought to schools for reference are still modest; the organization of pilot teaching of science subjects in English is still limited...

Students of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (HCMC), one of the prestigious specialized training institutions in the country

JADE PEACH

The Ministry of Education and Training believes that there are still limitations in the connection between specialized schools and universities, such as: lack of updated information on the educational effectiveness of specialized schools and training of universities to have appropriate adjustment solutions, leading to limitations in developing students' talents.

According to reports from the Departments of Education and Training, only 30/64 specialized schools currently monitor the learning of former students at university and post-graduate levels and their work after graduation. The Ministry of Education and Training believes that there should be specific solutions on the coordination mechanism between specialized high schools and universities to continue improving the quality of training and nurturing gifted students.

The leader of Bien Hoa High School for the Gifted ( Ha Nam ) said: “In the coming years, we always determine that the school operates not only for the results of a month or a school year but for a greater meaning: What kind of person will specialized school students become after graduation and training, and what will all school activities need to be like in different periods? The Ministry of Education and Training needs to complete the curriculum framework and build standards of knowledge, skills, and official specialized teaching materials for the specialized school system.”

Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, Hanoi National University, once spoke at the conference summarizing 10 years of implementing the project to develop a system of specialized schools, saying that public opinion opposed the existence of specialized schools because of the "fighting cock" style of training. In charge of training at the National University, Mr. Duc said that in the past, when accepting students who graduated from specialized schools, he saw many students with very high scores but often encountered problems such as not being good at foreign languages, not being able to follow their major, lacking skills, and having difficulty integrating...

“Specialized schools must be places to train talents, not to train fighting cocks,” Mr. Duc affirmed, adding that to do that, comprehensive training is required. A student specializing in any field must have soft skills, as well as proficiency in information technology and foreign languages. The most important thing for specialized schools is to be a place to nurture students’ aspirations, passions, and ambitions so that they can become successful. Specialized schools may not have national or international awards, but students studying at specialized schools will become key officials of the country and that is success.

“Top universities need to have policies to directly admit excellent students, including students from specialized schools; have legal documents for specialized schools that are more suitable to the actual situation; and find ways to attract the best students to specialized schools,” Professor Duc suggested.

Becoming a student of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted is the pride of many people.

Jade wins

Specialized school teachers "come in, come out"

Most opinions from the Departments of Education and Training reflect the difficulties in the team of teachers at specialized schools. The report of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City sent to the Ministry of Education and Training stated the reality: The team of teachers is not uniform in terms of expertise, the training and development of specialized teachers for succession in some subject groups is still limited and not timely. The treatment regime for teachers at specialized schools has not attracted good candidates to participate in recruitment into the school.

It is offensive if specialized schools are "luxurious" when regular schools are not yet solid.

Regarding the fact that localities invest heavily in the specialized school system, Minister Nguyen Kim Son especially noted that investing in specialized schools does not mean ignoring general education and the policy of equality in education. “We should not invest too much in the specialized school system and forget about other school systems. It is true that in difficult conditions, we must invest centrally, but besides the specialized schools that have been lavishly invested in, there are other schools that have not yet been solidified, which is really offensive. We must develop the upper group but support the lower group in a harmonious way,” said Mr. Son.

Mr. Mai Anh Dung, Principal of Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (Binh Dinh), said that the quality of the teaching staff is uneven in all subjects. There are subjects with limited human resources for training excellent students, and the reward work has not motivated the teaching staff...

The draft Regulations on the organization and operation of specialized high schools are being consulted by the Ministry of Education and Training. The policy of "some in, some out" for specialized school teachers is stated in Article 11. Accordingly, one of the principal's duties and powers is to "take the initiative in proposing the recruitment of teachers and staff; transfer teachers and staff who do not meet the requirements to perform the tasks of specialized schools to other educational institutions...".

Commenting on the draft of the Ministry of Education and Training, Mr. Vo Van Be Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ben Tre, said: This is necessary. The "in and out" of specialized school teachers is also to ensure the structure of the school's teaching staff and create conditions for specialized schools to be able to receive competent teachers from non-specialized high schools.

Mr. Be Hai said that Ben Tre has applied a regulation that if specialized school teachers do not complete their tasks for 1 year, or are assessed as having average professional standards for 2 years, they will be considered for transfer.

Mr. Phung Quoc Lap, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho, said that in 2021, the People's Committee of Phu Tho province assigned the Department of Education and Training to develop a project to develop specialized schools in the province, while waiting for the project to develop specialized schools nationwide. In particular, the People's Committee assigned the Department to develop criteria to evaluate the teaching staff of specialized high schools. In addition to the criteria according to current regulations, the Department has developed additional criteria to select and screen the teaching staff of specialized schools in the direction of "some in, some out".

With the viewpoint of comprehensive training development, Minister Kim Son said that specialized training, although special, is still general training, still based on personality, emotions, aesthetics, and human development as the top priority.

Dragon Pearl

Absolutely do not chase after achievements, applications, medals

In 2022, speaking about the specialized school model over the past 10 years and the orientation for the coming period, Mr. Nguyen Kim Son, Minister of Education and Training, said: “Some specialized schools are currently training talented people with appropriate perspectives and methods, but some are still at the level of high-quality schools and selective schools, not specialized schools. It is necessary to avoid the view that specialized schools are for having good students, awards, medals... but need to have the right perspective on the aspect of training and nurturing talents and take that as the focus in development”.

With the viewpoint of comprehensive training development, Minister Kim Son said that although specialized training is special, it is still general training, still based on personality, emotions, aesthetics, and human development as the top priority; therefore, diligent training in a comprehensive direction, without bias, training is not for medals, but first of all for the people themselves, which is also the foundation for having high-quality human resources.

"Absolutely not chasing after achievements, applying for exams, medals, the story of real learning, real exams, real talents must first be implemented in specialized high schools", emphasizing this, the head of the education and training sector also mentioned the pressure of enrolling in specialized schools, where many parents have not thought carefully, and still pursue specialized schools because of their own desires, leading to students making inappropriate choices. "We must avoid negativity in enrollment, avoid sitting in the wrong school. Talent is not a story of many people, so there must be an appropriate method", Mr. Kim Son said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truong-chuyen-dao-tao-nhan-tai-khong-phai-ga-noi-1851539336.htm