On the morning of 10/9, Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, told VnExpress that secondary schools have been asked to arrange their timetables reasonably, avoiding Saturday classes to prevent disruption to students' and parents' lives.
The Department's action stems from many secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City announcing the addition of Saturday morning classes. The reason given was the Ministry of Education and Training's regulation on two-session schooling, which allows only 7 periods per day, compared to 8 periods previously.
Many parents objected, arguing that this affects family leisure and rest time. They suggested removing some unnecessary extracurricular activities so their children wouldn't have to attend school on weekends.
According to Mr. Quoc, most secondary schools in the old districts of Ho Chi Minh City currently operate two sessions per day. In addition to the 29-29.5 periods per week prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training (core curriculum), schools offer additional integrated lessons in STEM, life skills, English with native speakers, and international IT.
"The Ministry's guidance, which limits schools to no more than 7 periods per day, applies to the core curriculum. Schools can arrange other content in some sessions, meaning they can teach up to 8 periods per day," he explained.
Mr. Quoc added that a timetable with 4 periods in the morning and 4 periods in the afternoon would be convenient for parents in terms of pick-up and drop-off.
"Schools can flexibly arrange the timetable between the Ministry's program and the school's program, but students should not have to attend school on Saturdays," Mr. Quoc emphasized.
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Students of Tran Huy Lieu Secondary School, Duc Nhuan Ward, on the opening day, 5/9. Photo: Le Nguyen |
Students of Tran Huy Lieu Secondary School, Duc Nhuan Ward, on the opening day, 5/9. Photo: Le Nguyen
At a conference organized by the Department this morning, Lam Hong Lam Thuy, Head of the General Education Department, said that a specific guidance document would be issued soon. She also noted that for supplementary content, schools should make appropriate choices based on voluntary participation, without putting pressure on students and parents.
"Some schools overload students with classes with foreign teachers, extra math, software, IT classes, etc., causing frustration. We recommend schools consider this carefully," she said.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has nearly 500 secondary schools with about 760,000 students. In the old districts alone, there are 299 schools, over 93% of which have implemented two sessions per day, according to statistics from the end of last year.
Le Nguyen
