Classes labeled as voluntary make it difficult for parents
In many schools in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and provinces and cities, in addition to the official curriculum, linked and supplementary programs are increasingly popular to meet the diverse learning needs of students.
Mr. Ho Tan Minh - Chief of Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training - affirmed that the organization of linked subjects is part of the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program, aiming to contribute to the formation and development of students' abilities and qualities.
According to current regulations, principals of educational institutions are entitled to develop school education plans, in which they can link with businesses and organizations to implement appropriate activities. However, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training requires that the organization must ensure the principles: Fairness, publicity, transparency, quality assurance and no financial pressure on students. Participation must be based on the spirit of voluntariness, taking parents' opinions, and at the same time fully disclosing the content, objectives and costs (if any).
This Department also requested the school to prioritize taking advantage of available resources such as teaching staff and facilities to organize activities.
Only when conditions are not met can socialization be implemented and this must be in accordance with regulations and have specific instructions" - Mr. Minh emphasized.
The Ministry of Education and Training has also repeatedly requested localities and educational institutions to strictly implement current regulations on linking, organizing, and deploying extracurricular education activities ( tutoring, linked teaching... ) according to the needs of learners.
The policy of the ministry and the direction of provinces and cities are very clear. But in reality, the process of implementing linked teaching in schools always receives mixed opinions from parents and public opinion. Each linked program comes with a separate fee, although called "voluntary", in reality, parents find it very difficult to refuse because they are afraid that their children will be separated from the collective. In some places, the total fees from the linked program each month amount to several million VND, exceeding the affordability of many working families. In addition to concerns about prices, many people said that they are still "vague" about the specific content, the coordinating unit for implementation, as well as the study duration.
Ms. Nguyen Thi My Quynh, a parent of a 7th grade student in Xuan Hoa ward (HCMC) said: "The school announced an enhanced English program but did not specify which teacher to study with, how many periods to study, what is different from the main program. Parents therefore often register in large numbers".
Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang, a parent whose child is in 6th grade in Xom Chieu ward (HCMC), has to spend nearly 2 million VND per month on association fees and other types of fees, even though official tuition fees have been exempted.
I don't want to let my child study, but most students in the class participate. If they don't register, they will be different, so in the end I still have to follow the majority" - she said.
In Hanoi, each month, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan - a parent whose child is in 5th and 9th grade in Dai Mo ward - has to spend from 1-3 million VND per child, excluding semi-boarding meals. This amount is mainly for gifted classes, afternoon clubs and overtime childcare services for about 1 hour. With her eldest daughter preparing for the grade transfer exam, her family also incurs additional costs for extra cultural subjects at the center.
Very expensive but not effective. If I could express my wishes, instead of teaching in association, clubs, teachers would guide their children to study on their own so that in the evening they could rest, without the pressure of homework" - Ms. Phuong Lan said.
Solutions to end voluntary pressure for parents
Dr. Vu Thu Huong - former lecturer of the Faculty of Primary Education, Hanoi National University of Education - said that in the past, students not only learned knowledge but also practiced skills and ethics through activities such as labor, duty, experimentation, team activities and family work. Studying half a day creates conditions for families to participate in education, helping to form life skills for students naturally. Meanwhile, many of these activities have been cut out of the official curriculum. The lack of skill training content in official school hours has led to the emergence of "linked" programs such as life skills or linked English... However, these programs have not met the expectations of parents.
Skills must be trained through practice, and cannot be taught theoretically. After a period of time, parents realize that their children have not changed, so they object, even though the cost is not high. Thus, the core issue is not whether there are supporting or linkage programs, but in the way of organizing education. When content that is originally the responsibility of schools and families is separated into paid services but does not bring about commensurate effectiveness, reactions from parents are inevitable" - she analyzed.
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh - former Director of the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Training - acknowledged that "voluntary" intrusion into class hours is actually a form of soft coercion. If not registered, parents cannot pick up their children early; students also do not have alternative living plans when they continue to study. Not to mention the psychology of worrying that their children will be separated from the class rhythm.
In that situation, revenue is no longer an optional expense but becomes a direct burden, affecting essential needs such as food, electricity, and medicine. Among them, the group most clearly affected are low-income families" - he analyzed and affirmed that this is an inadequacy that needs to be thoroughly addressed.
Proposing solutions, Dr. Vu Thu Huong said that the first and most important thing is to "return self-study hours" to students right at school. During this time, teachers will supervise and guide students to complete homework during the day, reducing homework pressure.
She emphasized that linked programs need to be organized according to the principle of voluntariness, separate from official classes, absolutely not included in parent meeting hours, to avoid parents, even if they do not have the need, but because of the psychology of "respecting" homeroom teachers, being forced to register their children.
Teachers should not play the role of introducing or inviting. Schools should only create conditions, such as allowing affiliated units to set up counseling tables, banners, information... while parents should find out and choose according to their needs" - Dr. Vu Thu Huong suggested a solution.
Agreeing with this view, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh said that it is necessary to clearly separate after-school services, consider them as welfare support, and not let them become "business doorways" in public schools. To do that, he proposed to "close the timetable immediately" for programs that charge fees from third parties.
If it wants to be called voluntary, it must be arranged outside of school hours. At the same time, students who do not participate must still have a safe alternative care or activity plan, so that parents are not forced to register" - he said.
In addition, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh emphasized the requirement for transparency in linked teaching organization, from partner selection criteria; teaching content, objectives, costs to revenue - expenditure mechanism, audit - community supervision, and at the same time, it is necessary to implement regularly throughout the school year, publicize results and attach responsibility to the head. In the long term, according to him, it is necessary to recruit and train teachers for core competencies (informatics, English, STEM), avoiding taking services instead of programs.
“Things that are not transparent should not be put into public schools, avoiding the situation where it is nominally public but operates like private, causing parents to bear underground tuition fees. International experience shows that: Content during school hours must be the responsibility of the State/school and cannot be disguised as collecting money; overtime services, if any, must be transparent, voluntary and substantive and have support for vulnerable groups.
It is necessary to strictly prohibit teachers and school principals from directing and mobilizing students and families to participate in liên kết courses. In addition, it is necessary to have a denunciation line for management agencies to promptly inspect and rectify and handle" - Mr. Vinh stated his opinion.
