This proposal has received great attention from the public. Many parents and teachers have expressed different opinions on this issue.
Ms. Vu Thi Hong - a parent whose child is studying in grade 6 in Thanh Xuan district (Hanoi) - supports the above proposal of the provinces/cities. She believes that if students are given Saturday off, they will have 2 full weekends to play and rest after a week of studying.
"Currently, children go to school 6 days a week, only have Sundays off - not enough to compensate for a stressful week of school. Children will feel tired and bored" - Ms. Hong said and added that if her children had Saturdays off, she would have more time for them to play and learn sports and extracurricular activities.
"I hope Hanoi will soon allow students in all schools to have Saturdays off," said Ms. Hong.
Meanwhile, Ms. Pham Thi Binh - a parent in Dien Chau district, Nghe An - is concerned about letting students take Saturday off. She said that if students only study 5 sessions/week and do not study on Saturday, the number of periods and the amount of knowledge they have to learn each day will increase. "That way, students will not feel any less pressure," she said.
"Not to mention, if they stay home on Saturday, the children will be too busy playing and not focus on studying. It is very difficult for the family to manage, especially when many parents still go to work on Saturdays" - Ms. Binh shared.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuoc Nhuan - teacher at Long Lam Secondary School (Nghe An) - said that giving students a day off on Saturdays is very difficult to implement.
"Because the school year schedule and number of classes do not change, if students miss school on Saturday, they have to make up for it on other days of the week. But this is also very difficult to do," she said.
Ms. Nhuan explained that currently, most secondary and high schools still apply one session per day. The 2018 general education program encourages two sessions per day, but schools still find it difficult to implement due to lack of facilities and human resources. Therefore, having no classes on Saturdays will make schools confused in organizing teaching activities.
Ms. Nguyen Hong Anh, a parent in Cau Giay district, Hanoi, shared that for many years now, her child's school has applied the practice of having Saturday and Sunday off, while still ensuring the in-class curriculum.
"The children will have two official school days a week, morning and afternoon, on Thursday and Friday. The schedule is very reasonable and does not put pressure on the children," Ms. Hong Anh shared.
However, this parent believes that allowing students to take Saturdays off should be applied flexibly, in accordance with the actual situation of each school and each locality.
"There are schools whose facilities do not guarantee two sessions a day, so they cannot let children take Saturday off because that will put pressure on the weekdays, causing overload for the children," said Ms. Hong Anh.
