Private Tutoring and Private Tutoring: The Right to Choose
My children, Quan in grade 7 and Chi in grade 4, sometimes take extra classes, sometimes not. When we see them struggling, my husband and I send them to extra classes right away, but if they are doing okay, we let them stop. Extra classes, for us, are an option when they need help.
When I saw my son (despite his excellent academic performance, his ranking was still 35/38 in the class), I just said: "It's sad when your classmates study hard but get low scores, but you are very lucky. This result reflects your attitude towards studying, your problem is you, not your parents' DNA, nor your teachers' teaching methods."
Grades and rankings have never been the reason for us to let our children take extra classes. I was straightforward with my child: “My only responsibility is to earn money to raise you. If you feel you need to study, I will find a class and pay for your tuition, but I have no need. Whether you study or not, that is your business and your responsibility.”
But I also know that out there, there are children who do not have that choice. They are buried in extra classes, exhausted by pressure and expectations. Not to avoid falling behind, but to avoid being left behind by their friends.
Learning more is not wrong.
For many students, it is an opportunity to dig deeper, to go further, to pursue bigger goals. But when not taking extra classes means falling behind, when the main class is just the beginning and the extra class is the place to "finalize" knowledge - it is no longer a voluntary choice.
Vietnamese children grow up amidst long school hours, unfinished homework, and evening tutoring. Many of us are familiar with the image of our children leaving school in the late afternoon, rushing to another class, with another teacher, hoping that after those hours of hard work, tomorrow's test will be a little better.
Circular 29/2024/TT-BGDDT, effective from February 14, sets stricter limits on tutoring and learning: A ban on tutoring for primary school students, regulations that only allow free tutoring in schools, and constraints on teachers when opening classes outside - all are set with the goal of reducing pressure on students and building a more equitable education.
But we all know, there are problems that cannot be solved with just a circular.
The nature of tutoring is not simply an educational service.
It is the result of a system where students cannot learn enough in class, teachers cannot make ends meet, and parents are constantly worried about their children falling behind. As long as these needs exist, they will find ways to express themselves in other forms, even when formal tutoring is banned.
The ban may cause some tutoring classes to close, but more ingenious workarounds will emerge:
Teachers who are not allowed to teach their own students can switch classes with colleagues. Centers will spring up under the name of "skills training" instead of "extra classes". Parents who can afford it will invite tutors to their homes.
And poor children, who rely on a cheap tutoring class near their school, may be the first to be left behind.
Equity is not about banning everything, but about ensuring that everyone has the same opportunity to learn and grow.
A fair education cannot rely on administrative orders alone, but must start by fixing the system’s shortcomings: improving the quality of classroom teaching, increasing teachers’ incomes, and reducing the curriculum. Only when the root problems are solved will the demand for private tutoring naturally decrease without any bans.
If you want to make studying less of a burden, make it less of a necessity.
Reduce the curriculum. Don’t force a third grader to learn difficult literary concepts that adults may not even understand. Don’t force a seventh grader to cram advanced math formulas into his head so that three years later he won’t even remember what he learned them for. Cut out the fluff and focus on the basics.
Teach deeply in class. Make each lesson a conversation, not a race through a textbook. Don't let class become a one-way "television" session where the teacher reads, the students copy, and whoever understands understands. Allow students enough time to understand, to ask questions, to try, to fail, to get explanations. So that after class, they can go home, play sports, read books, or just be kids.
Pay teachers what they deserve.
Don’t let someone with more than ten years of teaching experience struggle to pay for rent, children, and living expenses. When the salary is not enough to live on, tutoring is no longer an option, but a necessity. When life is still difficult and hard, does any teacher have the courage not to save the most important part for after-hours classes?
When schools teach deeply enough, when teachers no longer have to teach extra classes to make a living, when the curriculum is no longer a burden - then, extra classes will return to their true value: An option for those who want to go further, not a lifeline for those who are afraid of being left behind.
Only when these things change can the problem be solved. Otherwise, no matter how tight the circular is, it is just a patchwork net in the vast sea of needs. It can cover the surface, but it cannot stop the underground water flowing below.
And children, who should be protected, may be the ones who suffer the most.
