The widespread situation of extra teaching and learning is not new but is always a hot topic at every National Assembly session.
For many years, there have been countless sessions of questioning and answering questions, many circulars, regulations, solutions... have been issued, but this situation still persists as a natural part of the education system.
Responding to the delegate's question about the core cause of extra teaching and learning at the afternoon of June 19, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the reason comes from many "not enough".
First is that teachers' salaries are not enough to live on, then there are not enough schools, especially in residential areas, parents are not confident enough, not satisfied enough when their children's achievements are not high, teachers have not fulfilled their responsibilities of the main program...
Finally, the most important thing is that high school entrance exams are more stressful than university exams. That is, our entire education system still revolves around scores and exams. And this is the root of the problem of extra teaching and learning, not the "not enough" things.
When the exam is still a " narrow door" and learning results are still the standard for assessing abilities, no parent wants their child to study on their own in a race where almost everyone is trained with extra hours.
The more stressful the exam in education, as well as the less trust in the main curriculum from parents and students, the more the need for extra classes and the pressure to teach extra classes increases.
To deal with the problem of extra classes at the root, we cannot rely solely on regulations prohibiting or administrative inspections. Circular 29 is a necessary step, but not enough.
The fundamental solution must come from innovating the assessment mechanism from enrollment to testing in the school year, where scores are no longer the only value for classifying students, for ranking teachers, for rewarding schools.
At the same time, it is necessary to redise the school space so that students can respect differences and be encouraged to pursue their own abilities.
When there is no longer an expectation that everyone must be comprehensive, everyone must achieve high scores, then the motivation for extra classes will decrease because the score will be reduced. At that time, if there is, tutoring will be voluntary, it will foster personal capacity, not have to compete according to a strict standard.
extra classes are a symptom of an education system that is operating according to the score logic and exams. To solve the problem from the root, it is not possible to only patch the implementation loophole, but must change the way of thinking about school success from teachers to parents, students and the recruitment system of society.
An education for humanity, as well as the very good goal of "keeping children's childhood" as Minister Nguyen Kim Son set out when limiting extra teaching, inside and outside schools, cannot be built and completed on the fear of low scores and extra hours after school.
