Frustrated because children are disadvantaged

At the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, many parents with children studying at primary schools in Da Nang City expressed their anger because the school organized English lessons with foreigners in a socialized form right during regular school hours.

According to parents' feedback, when the school organizes English classes in the morning (main school day), if any student does not register to study, they must leave the class, play in the school yard, and wait until the end of the class.

"The school has called for voluntary subjects but intentionally organized them during the main school day. The children who came to school on time in the morning were still not allowed to enter the classroom, because their parents did not register for the voluntary subjects. Their friends were allowed to sit and study, but my child had to go out... This affected the children's psychology," said Ms. MH (a parent of a student at a primary school in Hai Chau District) indignantly.

Other parents in Hai Chau District also said that many families do not have the means to register their children for social English classes at school. Therefore, many students have to stand outside and watch their classmates learn English inside the classroom.

"I was very upset when the school moved the extracurricular subject to Friday mornings every week. If you don't register for the subject, if you don't go out into the yard, you sit in your room, but there is a huge discrimination. If you don't register for the subject, you won't be given books... With the mindset of an elementary school student, my child felt very hurt and demanded to be given books like his friends. What's wrong with our child not taking the 'voluntary' subject that he's being treated like that?", parent H. was upset.

The Department of Education and Training will inspect and punish any violations.

On September 28, the Department of Education and Training of Da Nang City announced that in preparation for the new school year 2023-2024, the Department of Education and Training issued guiding documents related to the organization of English teaching with foreign teachers in the form of socialization in primary schools.

Specifically, organizing English lessons with foreign teachers as well as teaching life skills are voluntary subjects, registered by students and parents, so they can only be organized outside of regular school hours, and cannot be "inserted" into the main school schedule.

The Department of Education and Training of Da Nang City affirms that the implementation and organization of English teaching for students is based on the spirit of voluntariness, strictly prohibiting suggestions and coercion. The organization must ensure the right to study, safety and suitability for students' psychology.

The Department of Education and Training's leaders also said that the Department is checking the implementation of tasks at the beginning of the school year at the Department of Education and Training and going to some primary schools to promptly detect and remind about violations in the teaching of socialized English (if any).

"We will have a document requesting the People's Committees and the Department of Education and Training of districts to strengthen inspection and supervision. If the schools do not make adjustments and correct the violations, the Department of Education and Training will organize inspections, impose penalties and recommend the People's Committees of districts to coordinate in handling violations according to regulations," the leader of the Department of Education and Training informed.