Associate Professor, Dr. Phan Thanh Binh speaks at the seminar - Photo: SG

Even if new programs and textbooks are implemented, if teacher management policies do not change, education will certainly have difficulty changing.

This opinion was given at the discussion on Education in the context of digital technology organized by the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children and Saigon University on the afternoon of May 2.

Hard to understand!

Speaking at the seminar, Associate Professor Dr. Phan Thanh Binh - Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children said that digital technology and virtual networks are affecting real life. If we keep the current situation, people will go up, we will go down, and the gap with other countries will widen.

"Compared to neighboring countries, our education is still at a disadvantage. According to the socio-economic report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment sent to the National Assembly's Economic Committee, Vietnam's educational innovation results have been recognized by countries and organizations, and are considered one of the top 10 education systems in the world in the East Asia - Pacific region," Mr. Binh added.

The principal of a university in Ho Chi Minh City said that Vietnam’s education is among the worst in the world, not the most advanced. If there is no change, in the next 5 years we will fall further and further behind.

"The way we change textbooks and programs is very strange. I have not heard anything about embedding digital technology into books, it is a 2-dimensional book, not a multi-dimensional one. Books still print 2-dimensional images, students have to imagine instead of using phones or software to represent 3-dimensional space. If we do not solve the problem of textbooks in time, we will fall further and further behind," he added.

Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Them speaking. Photo: MG

Professor, Dr. Tran Ngoc Them said that if we say that Vietnam's education is one of the 10 worst education systems in the world, it is understandable, but the top 10 best is difficult to understand, when it is too much of a coping strategy. "We must build a system of values ​​for education that is substantial, not just coping and achieving as it is now," Mr. Them suggested.

Teachers are not bad, just policies are bad.

At the seminar, in addition to issues of technology application, educational environment, textbooks, and programs, one of the issues raised by many delegates was policies for teachers.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the teachers are not bad but the salary for teachers is very low, only 10% of the salary for hiring a foreign teacher. This causes many good teachers to leave school to teach outside. Ho Chi Minh City has proposed many times to change the salary policy for teachers, to retain good teachers.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Hong - former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education - cited a recent study showing that primary school teachers must work 175% of the prescribed working hours, at secondary school level over 150% and high school over 120%. Teachers' salaries are not low, but their income is very low.

"In Australia, there is only a program, schools prepare their own teaching materials, and when taking exams, they are equal. Schools that do well will have increased investment from the government," Mr. Hong added.

Sharing the same view, Dr. Pham The Bao - lecturer of Information Technology Department of Saigon University said that up to now, the general Informatics subject still teaches Pascal, while nowhere else in the world teaches it like that. Teachers do not dare to change because it is a mandatory regulation of the program. This makes students afraid of Informatics.

Dr. Bao believes that Information Technology and Foreign Languages ​​are two keys to open the door to digital technology.

In response to comments from delegates, Associate Professor Dr. Phan Thanh Binh said that the policy for teachers will change in the near future.

"When there are no more model essays and students are not afraid to say things that are different from what teachers convey, then education will be different. Many people dare to send their children abroad to let them swim on their own, while in Vietnam, we are afraid and do not dare to let our children swim and experience things on their own," Mr. Binh added.

Machines cannot replace teachers

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Triet - Vice Principal of University of Science (VNU-HCM) - technology cannot replace teachers, and cannot be absolute by online teaching.

When in class, the teaching method encourages learners to use resources effectively, the lecture does not repeat the old things, rather than completely changing from traditional teaching to online teaching.

Individualized and specialized teaching for different groups of students is also something to consider, the important thing is that the teacher is the one who implements and guides.