The Minister of Education and Training has just issued Circular 06/2024 promulgating the Regulations on the National Science and Technology Research Competition for Secondary and High School Students, replacing the regulations issued in 2012. Compared to the previous regulations, the new regulations have many changes and differences in purpose, requirements, and organization process.
The new regulations of the contest have shown many positive and progressive points when encouraging and promoting the requirements and values of "honesty", "voluntariness" and "appropriateness" for high school students.
The risks of negativity, gossip, and irrationality of this competition that have been going on for many years, such as schools "hiring" universities, colleges, research facilities, organizations, and individuals to support high school students' scientific and technical research activities, have also been legally eliminated.
Students going to the market to buy products from local people and "turning" them into their own products, or teachers making and designing their own products, then instructing students to practice for presentations, "turning" teachers' products into students' products will also be greatly limited.
Scientific research projects that are beyond the reach of high school students in name and have no practical applications such as cancer cures, pharmaceuticals, automation, etc. will no longer have a chance to appear.
These are positive aspects and very welcome progress, showing that the Ministry of Education and Training has seriously listened to comments from public opinion and the press, including Lao Dong newspaper with many series of articles in recent times.
However, this innovation of the Ministry of Education and Training still cannot erase the concerns. Because as Lao Dong newspaper mentioned in the article "The Ministry of Education and Training should be brave to abolish the science and technology competition". The science and technology competition was first organized by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2013. This is an unstable competition, if not to say wrong in nature.
Because high school students mean those who are still studying general, basic, fundamental knowledge. And the Education Law has never set out requirements for scientific and technical research and innovation for this group.
Remember in July 2022, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Official Letter No. 2816 asking for teachers' opinions nationwide on whether to stop this competition? I don't know how teachers nationwide responded to the Ministry, but the Ministry's opinion after asking for opinions is to continue organizing as seen.
The Ministry of Education and Training should still consider scientific research as an extracurricular subject, like a club, for students who love science, or a subject that conditions students to get acquainted with research, and should not focus too much on achievements.
To do that, it is necessary to invest in equipment and facilities. Competitions should not be mandatory but can be socialized into a true playground, so that truly useful research products can be put into production by businesses.
Let the children play, without focusing on (virtual) achievements, competing like chickens crowing at each other... then the science and technology competition will naturally not only no longer have negative signs but may even be more effective than expected!
