Private schools in turmoil over new regulations on two sessions per day

(Dan Tri) - Studying 2 sessions/day has been organized by most private schools in Hanoi for many years. However, the new regulation on studying 2 sessions/day forces schools to reorganize educational activities.

From the 2025-2026 school year, studying 2 sessions/day will be applied to all three levels of primary, secondary and high school, in which the content of sessions 1 and 2 is defined in detail.

Session 1 is the time to implement the main curriculum with compulsory teaching content to ensure the requirements of the General Education Program.

Session 2 is the time to organize supplementary educational activities, in addition to the compulsory program content.

This means that the flexible arrangement of morning and afternoon classes as private schools have long done will no longer be in accordance with regulations.

Accordingly, schools will have to completely reorganize according to the Ministry of Education and Training's instructions on two-session learning.

Specifically, for primary school, the second session will organize consolidation activities for students to complete their learning content, educational activities on culture, arts, sports , STEM, etc.

Candidates taking the 10th grade exam in Hanoi in 2025 (Photo: Thanh Dong).

For junior high and high school levels, schools are allowed to review and tutor students who have not met requirements; nurture excellent students and review for transfer exams in the second session.

The principal of a private inter-level school in Hanoi shared: “With the new regulation, private schools have to do two things. One is to bring all the main curriculum into one session. The other is to add more classes for gifted students, arts, sports, STEM, and life skills. Both of these require the school to rearrange all facilities, recruit additional teachers, and change the teaching plan.

Meanwhile, the finances for the entire school year have been planned. Tuition fees have been announced to parents. Even if there is a significant increase in investment to meet the new regulation of two sessions per day, the school will not be allowed to increase tuition fees because of the commitment it has made to parents since the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

The leader of another private school is concerned about not being able to organize review sessions for secondary and high school students in the second session. This will greatly affect the quality of teaching and learning at the school.

“The advantage of private schools over public schools is that students study two sessions a day. Of these, there are more review and reinforcement sessions. Students complete most of their learning tasks right at school, under the supervision and guidance of teachers. They do not have to attend extra classes outside. Many families choose private schools for this reason.

However, according to the new regulations, in the second session, junior high and high school students are only allowed to train excellent students, review for transfer exams, and tutor students who have not passed.

A large number of students, the majority of whom are not in the team group and not in the unqualified group, will not be able to review and consolidate their knowledge, which is very unfair and disadvantageous for them.

I am waiting for more detailed instructions from the Department of Education and Training on this content. It is necessary to combine both knowledge review and extracurricular learning in the second session, reducing the burden for students when they still have to do a lot of homework at home to meet the knowledge content at school", the school leader shared.

The leader also added that he wanted schools to be proactive in organizing activities such as training excellent students and reviewing for transfer exams, in accordance with the school's teaching plan and the needs of students and parents. "Above all, the school has the highest responsibility to students and parents for the quality of education," he said.

The implementation of two sessions per day will be applied from the 2025-2026 school year. The Ministry requires schools to be responsible for surveying students' learning needs in the second session before the start of the new school year to have a plan to organize educational content to meet students' learning needs and be suitable for the school's conditions.

Schools also need to publicize plans, content, and schedules for teaching 2 sessions/day, develop lunch and break plans suitable to actual conditions, and ensure the consensus and voluntariness of students and parents.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/truong-tu-roi-boi-truoc-quy-dinh-moi-ve-hoc-2-buoingay-20250817084350845.htm