The annual Tet holiday schedule is not fixed, each locality implements it differently, making many parents and students in Ho Chi Minh City anxious and the education sector under a lot of pressure.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, proposed that students in the city return to school early to have a longer Tet holiday at a training conference for principals of secondary and high schools recently organized by the Ministry of Education and Training.
Short Tet holiday causes pressure
At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu said that recently, Ho Chi Minh City has faced a lot of pressure when arranging Tet holiday schedules for students. The reason is that Ho Chi Minh City has a large number of immigrants, so the short Tet holiday schedule causes inconvenience for parents and students when they return to their hometowns.
According to the Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the city initially gave students 9 days off for the Lunar New Year this year - coinciding with the holiday schedule of workers nationwide. Regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training require the new school year to start on September 5 and end on May 31, with students having a full 3-month summer break; the time for Tet holiday is decided by localities, but must ensure 35 weeks of actual study and other holidays. Thus, the Tet holiday schedule for students in Ho Chi Minh City is close to the school year time frame of the Ministry of Education and Training. However, many parents think that the Tet holiday is too short. After research and arrangement, Ho Chi Minh City has added 2 more days for Tet holiday, for a total of 11 days.
Meanwhile, many provinces and cities have given students 14-17 days off for Tet. This is not enough time to meet the number of weeks of actual study as prescribed, putting pressure on other localities such as Ho Chi Minh City. The leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training also suggested that the Ministry of Education and Training allow students to return to school early, 1-2 weeks earlier. If the regulation still requires students to start school on September 5 and end on May 31, it will be difficult to arrange more time for Tet.
The opinion of the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training was agreed by many educational institutions, parents and students in the city. Mr. Do Dinh Dao, Principal of Nguyen Huu Tho High School (District 4), said that letting students return to school early and have a longer Tet holiday is the wish of many parents and students. In fact, at the school, Mr. Dao said that many teachers and parents are from the North and Central regions. With a short Tet holiday, many teachers had to ask for permission to return to their hometowns in advance to visit their families and their graves.
Another problem is that parents and students think that the summer vacation is too long, up to 3 months, causing many families to worry that their children will forget knowledge and neglect their studies. "In addition, the Tet holiday schedule changes every year, making many teachers and parents nervous. The Tet holiday schedule should be fixed every year like the summer vacation schedule to avoid disruption and create a comfortable mindset for parents and students," Mr. Dao suggested.
In Ho Chi Minh City, right after the city decided to extend the Tet holiday by 2 days compared to the original, the Department of Education and Training requested educational institutions to create favorable conditions and resolve the issue reasonably for students returning to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year in their localities.
Students of Tran Van On Secondary School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) participate in wrapping Chung cakes every Tet holiday.
Shorten summer vacation: Reasonable!
Ms. Le Thanh Mai, a kindergarten teacher in Thu Duc City, said that although Ho Chi Minh City adjusted the Lunar New Year holiday this year to 11 days compared to the original plan, she still could not return to visit her hometown in Thanh Hoa . According to Ms. Mai, the holiday was too short, and the pressure of traveling during the days before Tet due to the increase in airfare, train fare, and bus fares made it very difficult to return home.
"During the days before Tet and the time to return to school after Tet, even if only one student comes to school, teachers still have to be present. Tet is supposed to be a time to rest with family, but teachers are under a lot of pressure, looking forward to and depending on the holiday schedule," Ms. Mai wondered.
Ms. Mai’s situation is not uncommon for many teachers and parents in Ho Chi Minh City, many of whom are immigrants. Tet is a rare occasion for them to return home to reunite with their families, but the vacation time is too short.
Both working as workers in an industrial park in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Hoang Thi Hanh said that almost every year she looks forward to her children's Tet holiday schedule. She and her husband can determine the Tet holiday schedule early every year, but with two children still in school, they are always nervous every year.
"This year, before the city had finalized the Tet holiday schedule for students, my family only dared to deposit for plane tickets. Because if we only had 9 days off, it would be too short. The family accepted losing the deposit because it would be very difficult to send our 2 children back to their hometown when ticket prices increased every day. When we returned to Ho Chi Minh City after Tet, the ticket prices were not only high but also very difficult to buy," said Ms. Hanh.
According to Ms. Pham Thuy Ha, Principal of Dang Tran Con Primary School (District 4), shortening the summer break to return to school early and increasing the Tet holiday is completely reasonable. She analyzed: With the school return time 1-2 weeks earlier than the regulation, students and teachers still have time to rest and return home to their families. Teachers also have enough time to study professional development. Ms. Ha said that a summer break of only 2 months is enough. While Tet, with the current short break, there are many teachers and students in the province, making it difficult and stressful for teachers and parents.
Ms. Ha explained: "Previously, Ho Chi Minh City only recruited teachers with city residence registration, now they recruit all over the country. Schools abroad also do not have a very long summer vacation. Even many parents cannot take summer vacation with their children. During the summer, they have to send their children to extra classes or send them to the countryside."
Tet is a meaningful time to rest
A head of the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City said that in reality, during the summer break, units still have to carry out many related tasks such as primary school enrollment, 10th grade enrollment, high school graduation exams, and preparing facilities for the new school year...
According to him, extending the Tet holiday is very necessary because this is the most meaningful time to rest for most families, parents, students and teachers.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/tuu-truong-som-de-nghi-tet-dai-hon-196250102211343351.htm
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