Ms. Thu Hoai, whose child is in grade 7 in Tang Nhon Phu ward, said that her child's study schedule at school is lasting from Monday to Saturday morning, instead of just Friday like in the previous school year.
This change made Ms. Hoai worried, afraid that her child would be pressured and overloaded in studying. "Everyone wants to rest, relax, participate in physical activities and sports on weekends. Now, on Saturday morning, my child goes to school, and my family's activities also have to change accordingly," Ms. Hoai expressed.
Ms. Hoai added that, finding out why her children have to take extra classes on Saturdays this school year, she was explained that according to the new regulations, schools are not allowed to teach more than 7 periods per day (8 periods/day before the school year), so they have to spread to the weekend.
Similarly, Ms. Phan Hang, whose child is in grade 7, said that the school should cut down on unnecessary periods so that her child only needs to study from Monday to Friday.
"If we only teach 7 periods a day, there will be 35 periods a week. If the school reduces or reduces some subjects in the school's program such as STEM, life skills, or English for language teachers... then my child will not have to take extra classes on Saturday mornings," said Ms. Hang.
Schools arranging extra classes on Saturday mornings are actually happening in many schools, especially in schools implementing the advanced, integrated model this school year.
These schools said that before, the school taught a maximum of 8 periods per day, now only teaches 7 periods, so they have to move to Saturday morning, but in reality, the amount of junior high school programs has not changed. The arrangement of students to study on Saturday morning is still in accordance with regulations because the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) allows junior high school and high school students to teach a maximum of 11 sessions a week.
Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City - said that the characteristic of this type of advanced and integrated school is to comply with the regulations of the standards set.
Must teach English and IT according to international standards; apply information technology in teaching so that 90% of junior high school graduates have English A2 or higher. Each school must also have at least three sports clubs, an art club and ensure that 100% of students meet assessment standards...
According to Mr. Quoc, today, the department will have an online meeting with all principals of schools on the school's educational plan for the 2025-2026 school year. At this meeting, the department will have specific instructions for units on teaching two sessions/day.
