Nghe An temporarily suspends life skills education in schools

Previously, according to statistics from the Department of Education and Training, there are currently 152 educational units operating.life skillsand extracurricular educational activities have been licensed by the Department of Education and Training. Of these, as of September 2023, 18 centers have programs that have been assessed by the Department as qualified to be taught in educational institutions.

In the 2022-2023 school year, life skills education centers organized more than 4,000 classes, with nearly 80,000 students, of which more than 63,000 students were in classes and more than 16,000 students studied at centers. Many units have invested in facilities, classrooms, campuses, decorations, teaching aids and equipment to ensure appropriateness.

The content of life skills education and extracurricular education activities belongs to 5 main groups: life skills program; Math thinking program; science and technology program; art program; and cultural subjects learning skills training program.

Regarding the teaching of life skills in schools, recently there have been many opinions that this program still has many shortcomings. That is, the management of activities in centers and educational institutions is still difficult for state management agencies at all levels due to the large area. The facilities of many life skills teaching units and educational institutions are not really suitable, lacking space for outdoor activities, playgrounds, experience areas, etc.

Some educational institutions in the process of linking with the Centerslife skillsOrganizing after-school activities for students is not unified and consistent, creating some negative public opinions in the community.

Recently, the Department of Education and Training has also established inspection teams to coordinate between specialized departments and interdisciplinary departments, strictly handling units when there are signs of violations in operations to ensure strictness and seriousness in management work. In the 2022-2023 school year, the interdisciplinary inspection team has drawn up records to handle 4/13 inspected units in Vinh city due to activities with content outside the license.

Regarding this issue, speaking with Nghe An Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoan - Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training said: Teaching life skills in schools has been guided by the Ministry of Education and Training in Circular No. 04/2014/TT-BGDDT dated February 28, 2014 of the Minister of Education and Training on promulgating regulations on management of life skills education activities and extracurricular educational activities; prescribed by the Government in Decree 24/2021/ND-CP dated March 23, 2021, regulating management in public preschools and general education institutions. In the new 2018 General Education Program, the content of moral education, lifestyle, and life skills is also focused on, helping students develop comprehensively.

However, in order to effectively teach life skills in accordance with the guidelines, in the immediate future, the Department of Education and Training has directed the education and training departments and schools to temporarily suspend teaching life skills in schools. At the same time, schools and related units need to review human resources, facilities, teaching programs and other organizational conditions before bringing them into schools. Teaching and learning must be carried out voluntarily, not forced. In particular, out-of-school centers, if they meet the required conditions, can still operate in accordance with the guidelines and according to parents' needs. At the same time, the Department continues to strengthen inspection and supervision of the operations of these centers.

Previously, the content of life skills education in schools was one of the issues questioned by many delegates at the meeting of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council in July 2023. Implementing the conclusion of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council, the Department of Education and Training directed functional departments to develop documents guiding the implementation of life skills education programs in schools.

After the suspension, life skills teaching for students is still being implemented by schools through integration into subjects and experiential activities...