Parents "force" their children to study pedagogy: Be careful of many consequences

Pedagogy industry "attracts" students

With a score of 25 in the recent graduation exam, Nguyen Mai Anh, a candidate from Tay Ninh, decided to pursue a career in education, following her parents’ wishes. Although she really wanted to study economics or design, she did not dare to disobey her parents.

Mai Anh's parents forced her to study education. If she failed to get into the top schools, she could choose branches and pedagogical schools in the province; if she didn't have enough points to get into the pedagogical majors with high scores, she could choose pedagogical majors with lower benchmark scores.

When Mai Anh confessed that she did not like teaching and did not like children, her parents "turned a deaf ear". The reason they gave was that it was difficult to find a job in other majors, but it was easy to find a job in teaching, and tuition was free and subsidized.

Finally, under pressure from her family, Mai Anh put her first wishes into teaching. “Is there anyone like me who registers for university but only hopes to… fail the university entrance exam so that she doesn’t have to study the major she fears?”, the girl said.

The past years have been called the “time of pedagogy” when everyone, every family, has entered pedagogy. The benchmark scores for pedagogy majors have continuously increased and are among the majors with the highest benchmark scores.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training , in 2024, more than 733,000 candidates registered for university and college admission in preschool education (equivalent to 68.5% of the number of candidates taking the 2024 high school graduation exam).

Notably, the leading field with the strongest increase in registration wishes compared to 2023 is educational science and teacher training with 85% (equivalent to an increase of about 200,000 wishes).

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, one of the main reasons attracting candidates to study pedagogy is the policy of supporting living expenses and tuition fees according to Decree 116/2020.

This Decree is attractive because it stipulates that teacher training students will receive state support for tuition fees equal to the tuition fees charged by the teacher training institution where they study. At the same time, students will receive state support of VND3.63 million/month to cover living expenses during their time studying at the school.

Not to mention, when the Law on Teachers takes effect from January 1, 2026, teachers' salaries will be ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale system, thus continuing to increase the "attraction" of the education sector.

Not only need to be good, pedagogy needs the right people

Many years ago, pedagogy was once a place to "save" many poor students when 3 points/subject could still pass the exam. At that time, there were even anecdotes "stupid people go to pedagogy".

In recent years, with practical policies to improve the quality of human resources in the education sector, the pedagogical sector has "transformed" with sky-high benchmark scores, becoming a playground seemingly only for excellent students.

It cannot be denied that education needs talented people, but in reality, some students and families now want their children to study education for reasons such as free tuition, living expenses, high salaries, etc., not because they love the profession, understand the profession, or understand themselves.

This can lead to a situation where education attracts talented people but does not mean it can recruit people suitable for the profession.

Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Education Association, shared that to pursue and make a living as a teacher, students must be really good and have good ethics. Good is the ability to do the job, while good ethics here is understood as the quality suitable for the job.

He frankly said that he used to like being a teacher, but he felt that he had poor ethics and qualities that were not suitable for being a teacher, so he did not choose this job.

According to Mr. Tuan, every profession needs ethics, but in any era, the two professions that need ethics the most are teaching and medicine.

Mr. Tran Anh Tuan emphasized that the core when choosing any career, besides ability, the most important thing is love and suitability. Students need to be advised and guided to understand their abilities and interests in order to make appropriate choices.

Parents can guide and suggest, but avoid forcing their children to choose a career, especially one that their children have seen signs of not being suitable for.

According to the Circular on Promulgating the Regulations on Professional Standards for Teachers in 2018 of the Ministry of Education and Training, the first standard of a teacher is the teacher's qualities. The qualities are considered in terms of teacher ethics and teaching style, followed by professional competence.

Choosing the wrong career, especially in the field of education, can lead to many consequences such as students dropping out of school or working in a job filled with frustration, suffering and possibly having to pay a high price. This misfortune is not only for themselves but is even more heartbreaking when the subjects of the teaching profession are students, the young buds of the country.

Psychologist Dao Le Hoa An said that students need to start from their own standards when choosing a career.

When you understand what you are best at and what you love most, you can convince your parents that your choice is right for you, while other choices that are not right can lead to consequences. Therefore, you must learn carefully about the job you want to convince your parents when "you like a job, your parents like a job".

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/cha-me-ep-con-hoc-nganh-su-pham-can-than-nhieu-he-luy-20250807091331636.htm