Should identify the subject that needs to learn more

Recently, the draft circular regulating extra teaching and learning of the Ministry of Education and Training has attracted public participation; at the same time, it has attracted discussion and comments from teachers and education experts. On the occasion of November 20, the National Assembly discussed the Law on Teachers, related to the above content, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated his opinion that the Ministry does not prohibit extra teaching but prohibits extra teaching acts that violate the ethics of teachers and violate professional principles. That is, prohibiting some acts of forcing extra learning by teachers.

In fact, the management of extra teaching and learning is still receiving mixed opinions in public opinion. Supporters believe that requiring weak students to take extra classes is necessary. For example, when discussing Article 11 of the draft law, stating things that teachers are not allowed to do, including not "forcing students to participate in extra classes in any form", National Assembly delegate Nguyen Van Canh (Director of Cua Bien Tourist Area) analyzed that with the same curriculum and the same teachers, students' levels of absorption are different. The academic ability in a class can be divided into many groups. Among them, there is a group that cannot keep up with their friends. Therefore, requiring weak students to take extra classes to catch up with their friends is necessary.

National Assembly Deputy Chamaléa Thi Thuy (Ninh Thuan Delegation) said that it is necessary to have a thorough understanding to make appropriate regulations. In fact, extra teaching is a real need of teachers and extra learning is also a real need of students, especially in urban areas and areas with developed economic conditions. According to Ms. Thuy, when we think that increasing salaries and policies for teachers has solved the problem of extra teaching, it is still subjective and not really suitable for real life. Therefore, taking care of policies and honoring the team working in education needs to be focused on.

From the perspective of parents, many people expressed concern that it is difficult to ban extra classes that violate teachers' ethics and professional principles. How can we distinguish between extra classes that violate teachers' ethics and extra classes that do not violate them? Mr. Nguyen Hoang Long - Viet Hung Urban Area - Long Bien (Hanoi) analyzed that although the policy of the Ministry of Education and Training is not to ban extra classes, parents do not hesitate to let their children take extra classes. The problem is how extra classes must be organized properly and are necessary to develop children's thinking, so that they can really improve when taking extra classes. If studying at school is enough, is it necessary to take extra classes? What solutions does the education sector have to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate extra classes?

Meanwhile, Ms. Tran To Nga (parent of a student at Cau Giay High School - Hanoi) said that it is best to eliminate the problem of extra tutoring to restore fairness to students. For weak students, the school itself must organize extra tutoring, and parents are willing to pay. Only then will extra tutoring not be considered a violation.

Promoting ethics in teaching and learning

Previously, from August 22, 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training also widely consulted on the draft Circular regulating extra teaching and learning. Regarding this content, Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Hanoi Educational Psychology Association shared that the content of the draft Circular regulating extra teaching and learning has some positive points such as creating conditions for teachers to teach extra classes legitimately, fairly with other professions, and also to work extra. And the draft provides some regulations to prevent negative extra teaching (forcing students). But there are core issues that still need to be clarified. Specifically, we are implementing the new General Education Program (GDPT 2018) with the orientation of developing learners' capacity and qualities. However, current teaching and learning has not yet escaped the style of cramming knowledge and chasing scores. This has led to the situation of extra teaching and learning. Thus, the purpose of extra teaching and learning is mainly to get high scores. Obviously, extra classes like this will not help students develop their abilities and skills, but only bring pressure and fatigue.

This raises the issue of how to manage extra teaching and learning so that it is not just a regulation for teachers to follow the law, but there needs to be synchronous solutions to change the awareness of teachers, students and parents at the same time. Parents need to see the harm of letting their children take too much extra classes. "A child who takes too much extra classes does not necessarily become a successful person in the future" - Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam expressed his opinion.

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According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi - former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Permanent Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, the conditions set for extra teaching are correct, but there must be clear regulations on how to promote ethics in extra teaching and learning. Mr. Nhi emphasized: The Ministry of Education and Training has repeatedly proposed to include extra teaching in the list of conditional business sectors. However, with the above proposal, if there is no strict management, there will still be reasons for negative extra teaching like the current practice of "voluntary" extra learning.