The Ministry of Education does not prohibit extra teaching.
In the 2nd meeting, 8th Session, 15th National Assembly just held, the issue of extra teaching and learning was brought up for heated discussion.
Delegate Do Huy Khanh (Dong Nai) said that extra teaching and learning also has positive aspects, not all teachers are bad, forcing students to take extra classes. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the situation of not being able to manage it and then banning it. Mr. Khanh also suggested that the Ministry of Education and Training, after the Law on Teachers is passed, should coordinate with ministries, especially the Ministry of Planning and Investment to issue a circular to thoroughly consider this issue.
Sharing the same view, delegate Chamalea Thi Thuy also said that there should be a policy to meet the needs of students and parents for extra study.
Responding to the opinions of the delegates, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said: "The Ministry does not prohibit extra teaching, but prohibits extra teaching behaviors that violate teachers' ethics and professional principles, such as forcing students."
Previously, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Training affirmed that extra teaching and learning is a real need for both teachers and students. The issue that has caused public outrage is that students have to attend extra classes taught by outside teachers, even though they do not want to.
Need solutions to prevent negativity
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thao (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) - a parent with children in primary and secondary school - believes that extra classes are not inherently bad and there are parents and students who want to participate.
Citing her son as an example, Ms. Thao said: "Class time is only 45 minutes/period, the number of students is too large, teachers cannot pay close attention to each student. He needs to study more to consolidate his knowledge."
However, Ms. Thao also admitted that not all parents really want their children to take extra classes. There are still cases where teachers entice students to take extra classes, and if they don't take them, they are bullied and threatened... These are the negative aspects that need to be condemned.
From an expert's perspective, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi - former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Permanent Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, said that there would be nothing to argue about if extra teaching and learning were done in the right direction. However, in reality, extra teaching and learning have many negative effects. Children have to study too much, cram knowledge, they no longer have a childhood.
Regarding the cause, Mr. Nhi said that the negativity may come from the teachers, when life is difficult, they think of tutoring to earn more income. As for the parents, because they are too busy, they push their children to take extra classes, or there are also families who, because of their achievements, want to take extra classes to stand out...
"In addition to teachers and parents, the root cause is also the curriculum and heavy testing," said Mr. Nhi.
In fact, the Ministry of Education and Training has repeatedly proposed to include tutoring in the list of conditional business sectors. However, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi said that if the above proposal is not strictly managed, there will still be reasons for negative tutoring like the current practice of "voluntary" tutoring.
"The conditions for tutoring are correct, but there must be clear regulations on how to promote ethics in tutoring and learning. Ethics here is that teachers complete their teaching tasks in class to the maximum, then spend time tutoring weak students and improving their qualifications, not that the main purpose of tutoring is to collect money.
Therefore, first of all, we need to educate teachers on ethics. Second, how to make teachers' lives relatively good so that they can make a living from their profession. Third, raise awareness among parents, do not force your children too much about studying. Finally, review the entire current curriculum and textbook content system" - Mr. Nhi suggested.
