Difficult to manage and supervise extra teaching and learning

Not assured if the child does not take extra classes

This school year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen's family (Vinh city) has 2 children taking the final exam, one of them is in 6th grade and the other is in 10th grade. In the recent entrance exam, both of them got high results, in which, the youngest son got excellent (5th grade) and the eldest daughter took the exam to Huynh Thuc Khang High School with over 26 points. With many consecutive years of good academic performance, her two children also have a high chance of getting into specialized schools, but the family thinks that they should study at normal schools. Therefore, during their high school years, the children did not go to extra classes and mainly studied by themselves or were taught by their parents.

Ms. Duyen also shared that: If my child takes the exam to enter a specialized school, he will definitely have to study a lot more, even one subject may have to study with many teachers. But because we determined not to put too much pressure on specialized schools and selective classes, we let the children be comfortable and develop according to their abilities.

Candidates taking the entrance exam to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Photo: My Ha

The case of Ms. Duyen's family is almost rare. In fact, although there are no statistics, the number of students who participate in extra classes accounts for the vast majority. A parent whose child just passed the exam as valedictorian of a specialized class at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted in the recent exam shared that: In addition to the child's ability, to get into a specialized school, the family also had to invest in extra classes which were quite difficult.

According to this parent's rough estimate, the child has studied with 4 teachers in his specialized subject alone (including teachers at school, a high school teacher, a middle school teacher hired by the family, and additional foreign teachers at a foreign language center). With the form of "3 on 1" or 1 teacher for 1 student, the amount of extra tuition the family spends on their child is difficult to calculate. In addition, the child also has to study the remaining 2 subjects of the 10th grade entrance exam, Math and Literature, with each subject lasting 1-2 sessions a week, not including extra afternoon classes at school.

Final exams always put pressure on parents and students. Photo: Duc Anh

Extra classes for children have now become the “default” and that is natural, especially for families who are preparing their children to take the transition exam. Ms. Nguyen Thi Van’s son (Vinh Tan ward) just took the 10th grade entrance exam this year. To prepare for this exam, since starting 6th grade, she had to find a class and a teacher for her child so that he could prepare well for the exam subjects. Particularly in 9th grade, each subject the child studied with at least 1-3 teachers and the child had almost no time to study at home. In the final years of the school year, if any student takes an additional foreign certificate exam, it is not unusual for the extra class schedule to be longer than the regular school schedule.

Ms. Van also added: When registering children for extra classes with a tight schedule, all parents are anxious. But if they do not study, they cannot rest assured because every year's exam has difficult questions, and if the children do not study extra, they will not be able to do it. Not to mention that there is not much time for regular study in class, there is no time to review.

Extra teaching and learning flourish

Based on the reality of many parents and students, extra teaching and learning is also organized in many different forms in many areas of Nghe An province.

The most popular form of extra teaching is that teachers, outside of class hours, organize extra classes at home or at some centers. The second form is that some teachers who are not affiliated with state agencies but have degrees and experience, open extra classes at home. Another form is that extra classes are opened at centers. In these centers, hundreds of students can study in many different classes and levels. This model is developed in Vinh city and some centers in districts, towns and cities.

Class time of Vinh city students. Photo: My Ha

In reality, it is also shown that the current extra teaching and learning is completely spontaneous and almost unregulated. Even large-scale teaching centers, according to regulations, only need to register their business as a type of business without conditions. For that reason, the quality of extra teaching and effectiveness are also subject to many considerations.

Ms. Le Thi Hanh, whose child is studying at a fairly famous math center in Vinh city, said: Through the introduction of some colleagues, I learned about a math center run by a teacher in Vinh. When my child entered the school, the center tested his level and placed him in a class corresponding to his ability.

However, in the 3 years of studying at the center, the center only interacted with parents in the first year. In the past 2 years, we did not know what the center taught or what the quality was. If we wanted to contact the center, we could only interact with a teacher in charge of the center and had absolutely no idea who the teacher was for our child. Indeed, because I had already paid for the entire school year, I had to let my child study, but in fact I had wanted to let him quit for a long time.

Another parent whose child used to study at this center also said: My child was taught by the head teacher of the center, but when I came back and saw that my child complained that he often used the pronoun "you" and "I" and even bullied when angry. When I gave my opinion, the center did not listen. When I was so angry, I asked for my child to leave the center, but the center immediately pulled him out of the closed group without any explanation. Indeed, that is a very anti-educational action.

The prohibition of extra teaching and learning during the summer is to direct students towards extracurricular activities. Photo: PV

Due to the high demand for tutoring and extra learning without any management, many parents are also very confused when choosing a reputable address to register their children to study. In fact, in addition to some famous, experienced, and responsible teachers that many parents register to study, there are still many addresses that parents find by word of mouth. The quality of tutoring and extra learning is therefore not guaranteed. Many parents, after a period of letting their children study, if it is not effective, feel sorry for both the money and effort, but can only feel regretful.

Need management, methodical and synchronous

Since 2012, the Ministry of Education and Training has issued Circular No. 17/TT-BGDDT regulating extra teaching and learning inside and outside schools. In 2016, after the Law amending the Investment Law in 2016 removed extra teaching and learning activities from the List of conditional investment and business sectors, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Decision 2499/QD-BGDDT announcing the expiration of Articles 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Circular No. 17/2012/TT-BGDDT regulating extra teaching and learning.

Thus, currently, if we understand about extra teaching and learning, there are many different views. However, if we understand according to the regulations, organizing extra teaching and learning will be strictly prohibited in 4 cases, which are: not teaching extra for students who have been organized by the school to study 2 sessions/day; not teaching extra for primary school students, except for the following cases: training in arts, physical education, sports, life skills training; Particularly for teachers who are receiving salary from the salary fund of public service units, they will not be allowed to organize extra teaching and learning outside of school but can participate in extra teaching outside of school. In addition, it is not allowed to teach extra outside of school for students that the teacher is teaching in the main curriculum without the permission of the Head of the agency managing that teacher.

Enhanced English class for students at Hoa Sen Kindergarten. Photo: Duc Anh

In addition, Directive 17 also stipulates that universities, colleges, vocational schools and vocational training schools shall not organize additional teaching and learning of contents according to the general education program. In schools, the organization of additional teaching must also be carried out according to the guiding documents.

In Nghe An, extra teaching and learning has long been carried out at schools. In addition, teachers also organize extra teaching at home and mainly teachers open classes themselves according to the wishes of parents and students. According to regulations, the organization of extra teaching and learning (including at centers) is also difficult to control due to the lack of sanctions according to regulations. Meanwhile, for a long time, inspection and examination have not been carried out regularly and mainly only check extra teaching and learning in schools.

The current problem is that there is no clear management mechanism for extra teaching and learning, so it is inevitable that there will be distortions and consequences around this issue. In addition, parents also want to strengthen management so that extra teaching and learning is true to its nature and purpose, and quality is guaranteed. In addition, it is necessary to promptly detect and correct the situation where some teachers take advantage of extra teaching to oppress and make things difficult for parents, causing unnecessary negative effects.

Regarding the organization of extra teaching and learning, recently the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An and then the Provincial People's Committee issued a document strictly prohibiting the organization of extra teaching and learning during the summer with the aim of creating conditions for students to have time to rest, play, participate in activities that contribute to comprehensive development and ensure health improvement in hot weather conditions. This is the right policy, but there are still many opposing opinions because parents are worried that if they do not take extra classes, students will get lost in their phones and computers.

With many problems arising, in the long term, extra teaching and learning are still controversial and to harmonize the interests between learners and teachers, the State also needs to soon have replacement documents and instructions to make it easier for both State management agencies and teachers, parents and students.