Ho Chi Minh City overcomes difficulties by teaching 2 sessions/day

Regulations on teaching 2 sessions/day in educational institutions are considered a specific and clear legal basis for schools to implement comprehensive education.

In early August 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) issued an official dispatch on guidelines for organizing 2 sessions/day for general education according to Directive No. 17/2025 of the Prime Minister on organizing 2 sessions/day, at the same time concretizing the policy of fundamental innovation in education and training of the Party and State in the spirit of Resolution 29 of the Central Committee.

Teach 2 sessions/day free of charge

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, from the 2025-2026 school year, teaching will be organized in 2 sessions/day to improve the quality of comprehensive educational activities in ethics - intelligence - physical fitness - aesthetics, including moral education, life values ​​education, life skills, STEM/STEAM education, reading culture education, school culture, physical education, arts, financial education; developing foreign language skills, digital skills, artificial intelligence (AI) skills, aesthetic skills... for students; forming awareness and lifelong learning habits.

Students of Nguyen Huu Tho High School (Xom Chieu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) during club activities at school

The Ministry of Education and Training requires that teaching 2 sessions/day must ensure effective implementation of the objectives of the 2018 General Education Program, regarding the duration of teaching subjects and organizing educational activities; not causing overload, suitable for students' psychology and health... 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 main curriculum, 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.

Session 2 is the time to organize supplementary educational activities, develop capacity, foster excellent students, tutor underachieving students... Organizing sessions 1 and 2 can be flexible in time, balanced in duration, not fixed in the morning as session 1 and afternoon as session 2, suitable to the conditions of each school.

In Ho Chi Minh City, organizing 2 sessions/day of teaching has been implemented for many years.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, teaching 2 sessions/day aims at comprehensive education, contributing to improving the quality of education; meeting the needs of families and society in managing and educating students; enhancing life skills education; and innovating teaching and learning for students. Before the merger, the rate of teaching 2 sessions/day in primary schools reached 92.98%; in secondary schools it reached 93%.

Funding challenges

Although the regulations are clearer and more specific than previous documents, the new regulations also make many educational institutions worry about challenges in terms of facilities, staff, and especially funding. Mr. Dinh Phu Cuong, Principal of Nguyen Van Luong Secondary School (Binh Phu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), assessed that this document is clearer than the 2010 guidance because it clearly stated the program for sessions 1 and 2, but it caused difficulties for schools in implementation. Previously, when teaching extra periods, schools could collect fees to pay teachers. Now schools are not allowed to collect fees, and the budget has not yet provided specific guidance. So the question is what funds are available to pay and train teachers?

Since the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program, Nguyen Huu Tho High School (Xom Chieu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) has always been bustling with clubs, which are places to comprehensively develop skills, especially "soft" skills, for students. In addition, tutoring and student development classes are always organized regularly and appropriately, thanks to which the school's education quality has increased significantly. According to Mr. Do Dinh Dao, the school's principal, the school has drafted a school year plan, in which it is still determined to teach 2 sessions/day even though according to regulations there is no fee. According to Mr. Dao, this is both the heart of the teachers and the responsibility of the school.

Mr. Do Dinh Dao said that the first session is mandatory and free of charge. The second session will be divided into two mandatory contents, including the content of the 2-session/day program that is free of charge and the content of the program that the school collects according to the agreement.

For content such as teaching STEM, life skills, AI, information technology according to international standards, the school cannot teach it itself, so it is forced to cooperate. These are contents of the school's curriculum, if organized, it will seek the consent of parents. As for the content in the second session that is not charged according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, the school will still implement it, which is to increase review and tutoring periods for students, and maintain student clubs. The school has organized to get teachers' opinions and implement in the direction that each teacher is in charge of 1 club, then convert 1 session in charge of the club to how many periods, this number of periods will be counted as the teachers' obligatory periods. If there are extra periods, teachers will receive extra income.

According to the principal of a high school, in reality, if any educational institution only teaches the required number of periods, it is not to be blamed, because previously, the fee for organizing the second session was allowed to be collected at 300,000 VND/student/month, which was also a source of income to pay salaries and allowances for teachers. Now, if there is no income, not all teachers agree. "Should there be a regulation that if any school is qualified to teach 2 sessions/day, it must be responsible for organizing it, otherwise there will be sanctions" - this person stated.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc, Principal of Duong Van Thi High School (Tang Nhon Phu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), informed that since the school was established, it has always organized 2 sessions/day. At the beginning of the school year, the school asked parents for their opinions on organizing 2 sessions/day and almost all parents agreed, the fees in previous years were implemented according to the instructions.

Before the regulation of not charging for the second session from the new school year, according to Ms. Truc, instead of letting teachers join the club with students, the school will let students register, organize, and participate in activities according to their needs. For now, the school will still increase tutoring and remedial classes for grade 12 students, but must wait until the exam to know where the students are weak and to nurture good students. These contents will be implemented in the second session, the number of extra classes will be counted as the teachers' obligatory classes, if there is a surplus, they will be entitled to the extra classes according to regulations.

Need to distinguish from school program

According to the principal of a high school, to properly implement the teaching of 2 sessions/day, schools need to clearly distinguish between the 2nd session and the school program. Specifically, the 2nd session is to study extra hours to support students to better absorb the 2018 General Education program and develop their talents (physical education, music, fine arts, reading). Previously, the fee for these activities ranged from 280,000 VND/student/month to a maximum of 300,000 VND/student/month.

The school program includes STEM activities, life skills, English with foreigners, international standard IT, AI... These activities cannot be included in the second session because teachers cannot teach them, there are no textbooks, tools such as English learning apps... These programs charge fees according to agreements with parents within the framework allowed by city regulations. Therefore, it is necessary to separate these two types. In particular, both types must have the consent of parents.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tp-hcm-vuot-kho-khi-day-hoc-2-buoi-ngay-196250902204535719.htm