Teaching 2 sessions/day: Worried about not being able to study the main curriculum in the 2nd session

Although the Ministry of Education and Training has issued guidelines for teaching two sessions per day in general education, there are still concerns about implementing it at the secondary level, especially with the current limited conditions of facilities and teaching staff.

Study 2 sessions a day but it's hard to skip Saturday

The Ministry of Education and Training believes that teaching 2 sessions/day is clearly divided between session 1 and session 2 to ensure scientific, flexible and comprehensive development of students. In which, session 1 is the time to implement the official general education program, including compulsory subjects and educational activities (for general education levels), elective subjects, selected subjects, advanced topics (for high school level) according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. This is compulsory teaching content to ensure the requirements of the general education program.

Many high schools in Ho Chi Minh City are holding two sessions a day so that students can have Saturday off.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Parents worry if their children still have to go to extra classes even though they study 2 sessions a day.

On the parents' side, there are also many concerns that if children study 2 sessions/day but still have to go to extra classes to prepare for exams, it is very inappropriate. Currently, major exams are focusing on a number of subjects and the testing method is very stressful, not the subjects prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training in the 2nd session. Therefore, if studying 2 sessions/day but wanting to pass the exam, there is no other way but to take extra classes. When the school only teaches 1 morning or afternoon session at school, the remaining session the children go to extra classes for some subjects to prepare for the exam, but if the school organizes 2 sessions as instructed, they are forced to take extra classes in the evening or on weekends. This will be very stressful.

Session 2 is the time to organize supplementary educational activities, develop capacity, foster excellent students, tutor students who have not met the requirements of the general education program, life skills education, financial education, art education, physical education, STEM/STEAM, career guidance, artificial intelligence, foreign languages... in the direction of comprehensive development suitable for students' psychology at each level of education.

However, the organization of sessions 1 and 2 can be flexible in terms of time, balanced in terms of duration (not fixed in session 1 in the morning and session 2 in the afternoon), suitable to the conditions of each school. Encourage educational institutions to diversify teaching methods and organize educational activities to improve the quality of comprehensive education for students.

The clear regulation that the second session is not a regular class has positive aspects but is causing concern for secondary schools, especially those localities that are implementing a 5-day/week teaching schedule so that students can have a full Saturday and Sunday off like workers.

Currently, schools and localities are piloting the idea of students having Saturday off, so the second day of school is mostly the main curriculum with the timetable arranged according to the school's educational plan. Only then can we run enough teaching periods/week so that students can have a free day off on Saturday.

The Departments of Education and Training of Bac Ninh , Phu Tho, Ha Tinh, Lao Cai, etc. are piloting Saturday school breaks in some local secondary schools with 2 sessions/day, 5 days/week, and no distinction between session 1 for regular classes and session 2 for supplementary educational activities as instructed by the Ministry of Education and Training. Therefore, some opinions are concerned that if the Ministry's instructions are followed, localities may have to stop the 5-day-week pilot, and students will still have to go back to school on Saturdays.

The principal of a junior high school in Hanoi analyzed that according to the current curriculum, junior high schools must ensure 29 lessons per week. If the school wants to give students a day off on Saturday, students must study a maximum of 6 lessons in the first session. If 5 lessons are taught in the first session, will the remaining 4 lessons be allowed to be transferred to the second session?

"SOCIALIZED" FEES, ARE COLLECTED FROM PARENTS?

Because at the primary level the educational program is designed to require two sessions per day, in most localities, implementation is not difficult. At the secondary and high school levels, although the Ministry does not require it, it encourages schools to implement it.

In Hanoi, about 60% of schools are qualified to organize 2 sessions/day, but not all schools organize 2 sessions/day, especially after Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning.

A principal of a junior high school in Thanh Xuan Ward (Hanoi) said that the biggest difficulty for junior high schools when implementing 2-session teaching per day is the lack of classrooms, lack of teachers for some subjects to meet the 2-session teaching ratio per day, and finally financial difficulties.

To ensure fairness and reduce the financial burden on parents, the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that there is no fee for the second session. Funding is allocated from the local budget, while promoting socialization... However, an education expert said: "The most difficult and sensitive part is funding, but the Ministry's instructions are too general. Local funding can pay more for teachers, but what about teaching materials, equipment, hiring artists and athletes to teach, is it socialized or also local funding? And socialization means parents pay or who?".

In fact, for a long time, the social mobilization to serve the educational activities of the school has mainly come from parents whose children study at the school. Therefore, schools believe that there should be clearer regulations, avoiding general regulations that can be understood in any way, because when each school understands it in a different way, it may accidentally "violate the rules" when socializing from voluntary contributions from parents.

At junior high and high school levels, the Ministry of Education and Training does not require but encourages schools to teach 2 sessions/day.

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

SESSION 2 MUST MEET THE LEARNERS' NEEDS TO THE MAXIMUM

Mr. Dang Tu An, Director of the Vietnam General Education Innovation Support Fund, shared: In the second session, teaching and learning cannot be done based on emotions but must have core principles including: no re-teaching of lessons from the main session; absolutely no extra teaching, in-depth teaching or enhancement of knowledge learned in the main session. Students study voluntarily, so teaching is not organized according to the main class but needs to be taught according to needs and students register to choose. Streamline the learning content and be approved by competent authorities to avoid overloading teachers and learners. There are sufficient and suitable facilities for students to practice, participate in extracurricular activities, organize clubs and support for comprehensive training and development of students' physical, mental and intellectual health.

No discrimination in choosing teachers to teach the second session, anyone with the ability to teach any content will be considered for assignment. Does not create inequality like the recent extra teaching and learning.

According to Mr. An, based on Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning and Circular 05 on regulations on teachers' working regime, schools can flexibly apply it to organize second-session teaching in high schools. This also means that the upcoming budget for management and teaching activities in schools will be very large.

In addition, although promoting the socialization of education to support funding and reduce the burden on the budget, it is also necessary to guard against the distortion of extra teaching and learning. If we do not pay attention to management, the problem of overcharging at the beginning of the year will also have a chance to flourish.

Further analysis, Mr. An pointed out that many countries with developed economies and education do not have the concept of studying 1 or 2 sessions like Vietnam. Therefore, it is possible to pilot their way of organizing full-day study without the burden of boarding, organizing kitchens, and sleeping places. Schools start around 8:00 - 8:30 a.m., and end around 2:30 p.m. Students bring snacks to school or buy them at the cafeteria.

Associate Professor Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Principal of the Hanoi School of Education, said that to implement the second session in schools that do not have enough facilities, each class/room can flexibly and reasonably arrange student activities inside or outside the classroom by dividing into small or concentrated groups, even having space for students to do individual activities such as self-study, reading, participating in practice and experiments.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/day-hoc-2-buoi-ngay-ban-khoan-buoi-2-khong-duoc-hoc-chuong-trinh-chinh-khoa-185250814234038791.htm