Tragicomedy on the first day of changing school and work hours

There are many tragicomic and awkward situations for students, parents and teachers on the first day of applying the new regulation on changing school and work hours.

Students fear hunger…

On the first day of applying the schedule of changing school and work hours, Hanoi's life seemed to be busier than usual.

At the end of school hour at Le Quy Don Secondary School (Cau Giay - Hanoi), a group of students were waiting for their parents to pick them up. When asked, the whole group hesitated and then confessed: We don't like changing class times like this!

Hoang My Linh, a 9th grader at Le Quy Don Secondary School, honestly shared: “We are very hungry because we come home late. I am also worried that if we come home late like this in the summer, we will be hungry, tired and hot…”.

Parents are busy because of time difference with their children.

The most affected by the change in school hours are still high school students and university students whose school hours were changed too early, as some students complained.

Thuy Trang, a 10th grade student at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School, said that on the first day of changing class times, many students were late and had to "wander around" in the schoolyard waiting for the new class to start.

Trang said: “Today, there is a student in my class who had to take both the bus and a motorbike taxi to get to class on time! Late students are still allowed into school, but on normal days the gate is locked when they arrive at school” – Trang said.

Trang added that she herself can adapt to the new school schedule, but feels sorry for her parents because they are affected: "My whole family has to wake up earlier to have breakfast together."

Meanwhile, Ms. Thanh (Yen Hoa - Cau Giay) shared: "My eldest child is in high school and left at 6:30. The youngest child is in 3rd grade and will come in at 8:00. This morning, I had to wake up really early to cook but still couldn't make it in time for the whole family. When the younger child got to eat, I had to take it in a take-out box, which also took me a lot of time in the morning..."

Worried about whether the family will be able to have a full meal like usual, Ms. Thanh humorously added: "Moreover, the grandparents are at home. If they wait for the children to come home from school to eat together, the grandparents will starve to death!"

Hire a tutor to help your child suffer?

Struggling to take her grandchild onto the sidewalk during the crowded school dismissal time, Mrs. Hue (Nghia Tan, Hanoi) said she had to take her child to pick him up and drop him off because he was late for school and his parents had to go to work early.

So, instead of her third grade granddaughter being taken to school by her parents on a motorbike, her grandmother will now… walk her to school.

“I am fine, it is cold in winter, the child goes to school later so it is less cold, but his parents are not at ease, afraid that she and he will have a hard time” – Mrs. Hue said.
Asking grandparents to take their children to school, hiring tutors to help their children study at home instead of going to extra classes... are "temporary" solutions for parents to cope with the new school schedule.

Although Ms. Tran Thi Mung (Xuan Thuy - Cau Giay) does not have to work hard to take her child to school, she has a headache because: "My child is in his final year of high school, has a lot of homework and has to study late like this, it is so hard for him! School ends at 7 o'clock, when will he get home, eat and rest, and then study in the evening? Especially since he has several extra classes during the week, all after afternoon school, changing the schedule like that, he definitely cannot handle it... I can't rest assured if he doesn't study, but if I want my child to study extra, the only way is to hire a tutor...".

Not only students and parents are worried, but teachers are also upset with the new school schedule.

Ms. Nguyet - a teacher at a high school in the Cau Giay area also shared that according to the new schedule, she must arrive at school before 7:00, at the latest 10:50, and can only return after 7:00 p.m.

“I am not tied down with a family, but I still have to take care of my elderly parents, worry about shopping, cooking... With such a work schedule, I have no time to take care of my family, and even have little time to prepare lessons and practice my skills. Many women with families are more worried because they have small children and only one person at home,” Nguyet confided.

Picking up his child after school at Le Quy Don Secondary School, Mr. Tran Van Tinh (Nghia Tan Ward, Cau Giay District) said that his wife is a high school teacher, and according to the new schedule, he and his wife are very worried because: "With this work schedule, the teachers are too tired... If I have to go on a business trip, I don't know how my wife will manage to pick up the child when she has to be there at 7am and work until 5:30pm...

Even if there is a lunch break, but the time spent at school is too long, who will leave the children to? Who will pick them up and drop them off? And whether the allowances, teachers' salaries, and policies will be changed or not, that is also a problem" - Mr. Tinh said.

According to Vietnamnet