Students must study on Saturday: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training speaks out

(NLDO) - If possible, schools should limit Saturday classes. Some schools have turned Saturdays into self-study or online classes, this is a direction worth considering.

At the conference to give opinions on the general education plan of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training on September 10, the leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that schools are not allowed to organize Saturday classes to teach the 2018 general education program.

Ms. Lam Hong Lam Thuy, Head of the General Education Department - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that the Department's Office will advise on issuing a document guiding the schedule during the school day to ensure stability in organizing educational activities for the 2025-2026 school year.

Previously, at the junior high and high school levels, there were no clear guidelines on two-session learning. Currently, the plan focuses on determining the minimum duration of 7 periods/day, 9 sessions/week (for schools that have not yet implemented two sessions) and a maximum of 11 sessions/week. "However, maximum does not mean mandatory, schools are flexible according to actual conditions" - Ms. Thuy emphasized.

Some schools have turned Saturdays into self-study or online learning sessions, which is a direction worth considering.

According to Ms. Thuy, even from primary to secondary school, not all schools have the conditions to organize 2 sessions/day. If possible, schools should limit studying on Saturdays. Some schools have flexibly turned Saturdays into self-study or online learning sessions, this is a direction worth considering.

According to the Department of Education and Training, there are 15 categories of educational support services that are allowed to be collected from socialized sources. Among them are foreign language learning, which has up to 6 sub-categories. However, this does not mean that schools organize all 6 contents. The selection must be appropriate and not put pressure on students and parents. Some schools "embrace" all the collected contents, forcing students to study with foreign teachers, take extra math lessons, learn software, etc., causing frustration. It is recommended that schools consider and choose a maximum of 2 additional contents in the foreign language learning section (outside the main curriculum).

According to Ms. Thuy, there are currently many complaints and messages from parents about unreasonable timetable arrangements, especially at the junior high and high school levels. "Therefore, we suggest that schools review and arrange flexibly, ensuring that they do not cause public outrage, especially when the new school year has just begun," Ms. Thuy said.

In recent days, the issue of students having to study on Saturdays has been a "hot" issue that many parents have reported when the new school year has just begun, and it is also a difficulty for schools when arranging the timetable to only 7 periods/day according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. Therefore, in order to ensure enough periods according to regulations, some schools have arranged the timetable to study on Saturdays, causing many difficulties for parents.

At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized that schools need to ensure stability in students going to school. Specifically, what are the morning hours, noon hours and afternoon dismissal times so that parents can pick up and drop off their children in the most convenient and reasonable way. Currently, some principals believe that they have full authority to arrange the timetable, leading to responses such as: "Students study 2 periods and then go home" or "On Saturdays, they only study 3 periods and then go home."

"The principal needs to review last year's organization and carefully consider changes this year to avoid causing reactions from parents and avoid sudden changes," Mr. Quoc suggested.

The General Education Department has discussed with the leaders of the General Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training and agreed that 7 periods/day are only for implementing the main curriculum.

According to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, the biggest difficulty schools are currently facing is the regulation of 7 teaching periods per day according to the document of the Ministry of Education and Training. The General Education Department has discussed with the leaders of the General Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training and agreed that 7 periods per day is only for implementing the official curriculum.

The leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training also noted that the organization of learning also needs to pay attention to the active participation of students. Some schools can arrange to train excellent students or tutor them on other days of the week, instead of Saturday.

"Schools are proactive and flexible, but must ensure that 7 periods/day are for the 2018 General Education Program. If more than 7 periods/day are for teaching additional core curriculum, it is not allowed. For private schools, schools will proactively develop educational plans, and must have consensus and agreement on tuition and study costs with parents," Mr. Quoc emphasized.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/hoc-sinh-phai-hoc-vao-thu-7-so-gd-dt-tp-hcm-len-tieng-196250910141900701.htm