After Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training issued regulations on extra teaching and learning, schools were not allowed to organize extra teaching in schools. Immediately after that, many localities piloted the model for middle and high school students to have Saturday and Sunday off before widely expanding.
Currently, many provinces and cities have piloted giving students 5 days/week, with Saturday and Sunday off, helping students have more time to self-study and participate in comprehensive development activities on capacity and qualities.
In Hai Duong, Ninh Giang district is the first district-level locality to give middle school students a Saturday off. Schools proactively arrange a schedule of 2 sessions/day accordingly. The decision was advised by the education sector of Ninh Giang district (Hai Duong province), surveyed public opinion and received high consensus from teachers and parents.
Mr. Tran Van Quyet ( Ung Hoa commune, Ninh Giang district, Hai Duong province) said that the adjustment of the education plan of Ninh Giang district is in line with reality and general trends, so that children have time to rest, self-study, play, and reduce learning pressure.
"Having junior high school students have Saturday off will create conditions for teachers and students to have time to self-study, self-education, and participate in community and social activities. My child is in grade 6 at Ninh Giang Secondary School, I want him to have a weekend off to reduce the pressure of studying and develop other skills" - Mr. Quyet said.
Before Ninh Giang district, the whole Hai Duong province had Le Quy Don Secondary School (Hai Duong city) in the public school system that gave students Saturday off.
Ms. Tran Kieu Linh, whose child is in grade 8 at Le Quy Don Secondary School (Hai Duong City), agrees with giving students a day off on Saturday. According to Ms. Linh, the pilot implementation of organizing teaching and learning 5 days/week to let students have Saturdays off so as not to overload students and teachers is a correct model. Thereby, contributing to improving the quality and efficiency of education at the school.
Not only Hai Duong, a series of schools in Khanh Hoa, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Bac Ninh, Yen Bai... have allowed students to have Saturdays off.
Meanwhile, the localities of Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Thanh Hoa plan to let students study 5 sessions a week, with Saturday off in the coming time.
Many teachers support giving students a day off on Saturdays because if they have an extra day off during the week, students will have more time to play and entertain, teachers will also have time to rest and prepare well for the lesson before starting the new school week.
