Many centers in Vinh city still teach extra classes for primary school students.
The prohibition of extra teaching at primary level is a regulation set forth in Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning. However, management at this level is facing many difficulties, especially for centers and teachers outside of schools.
Open tutoring outside of school
"Opening class 5 of Vietnamese language review Dang, opening class of Science - History - Geography combination, Center schedules opening class 5 of Math review Dang for students studying at Truong Thi primary school, accepting mock exams to enter Dang school...".
Those are the advertisements posted publicly on a personal page by a center on Hermann Gmeiner Street (Vinh City) and many parents commented on it.
Calling the center’s phone number, the center’s staff said they were ready to accept elementary school students to study cultural subjects. However, to be sure, the center required parents to bring their children for a test to check their abilities. After that, the students would be arranged in appropriate classes.
In Vinh city, there have been many tutoring centers for primary school students. This is also a "lifesaver" for many parents when since February, many primary school teachers have been forced to stop tutoring due to the implementation of the law.Circular 29. Understanding the needs of parents, the centers continuously post new classes. Students who come here are mainly 4th and 5th graders who wish to enter selective classes in middle school or those who are aiming to take the entrance exam to Dang Thai Mai Middle School.
In addition to this group, currently, home tutoring for groups of 1-2 students is also chosen by many parents. The main subjects are students in grades 1, 2, and 3 because parents do not have much time or do not have the conditions to take care of their children, so they seek tutors to tutor their children in the afternoon and evening.
In the tutoring groups of Nghe An, Vinh city tutors, Vinh city tutoring association, it is not difficult to find information about students or teachers outside the school who tutor primary school students. The average price for a student is from 100,000 - 120,000 VND/session.
In addition, some non-public teachers directly and publicly recruit elementary school students to study via Zoom. Parents who want to register must complete required information such as name, address, phone number, and the school their children attend. Before that, these teachers will organize some free Zoom teaching sessions with the purpose of teaching students to test and attract more participants.
A parent whose child is in grade 3 in Vinh city said: In the past, I used to leave my child at the homeroom teacher's house in the evening and would send her about 3 million VND/month in tuition for tutoring or for her to help parents with their children's homework. However, she has now announced that she will no longer teach because it is against the regulations and I am planning to hire a tutor to tutor my child.
Difficult to manage
Having taught 5th grade at an elementary school in Vinh city for many years, teacher Tran Thi Mai said that recently she has received many messages from parents sharing about "spending too much tuition on extra classes at centers".
I don't understand why Circular 29 has banned it but outside centers can still teach extra classes to primary school students. My parent whose child is preparing for the entrance exam to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School said that if they don't go to extra classes, they won't feel secure because everyone in the class is taking extra classes and studying a lot. But now, if they keep taking extra classes outside, many parents can't afford it because there are places that require parents to study all 3 subjects: Literature, Math, and a combination (History - Geography - Science) with 6 sessions/week, tuition fee 100,000 VND/session.
Teacher Tran Thi Mai (Vinh city)
No extra classes are organized for primary school students, except for the following cases: art training, physical education, life skills training, which is the content of Circular 29. However, the management of this issue in Vinh city seems to be "loose" and not being paid attention to. This makes it difficult to thoroughly implement the ban on extra classes and tutoring, leading to a situation where "squeezing" inside "bloating" outside, creating an opportunity for tutoring centers and other similar forms to develop.
In Trung Do ward, recently the inspection team of the ward People's Committee suddenly inspected an English tutoring class for primary school students of a teacher at Trung Do Apartment.
The inspection showed that this center had a business registration certificate with the content of "Teaching English and some other skills" but had not completed the regulations on fire prevention, fire fighting, environmental sanitation, and facilities. Regarding this, Ms. Nguyen Thi An - a cultural officer of the ward said: This is the first case that the ward has inspected extra teaching and learning according to Circular 29 and in reality, this facility has not implemented many regulations. For now, we require the facility owner to complete the procedures. In addition, it is forbidden to organize extra teaching at the elementary level because English is also a core subject at school.
Regarding extra teaching and learning, Trung Do ward can be considered a pioneer in the city to issue documents regulating extra teaching and learning and assign departments and blocks to promote responsibility in supervision and management work and strengthen inspection, supervision and handling of violations.
In the whole province, Nghe An still has no document guiding on extra teaching and learning. Meanwhile, the handling of extra teaching and learning seems to have no unit to manage and inspect. Therefore, not only extra teaching at primary level but also at many other levels, if there is no guidance and timely direction, it is very easy for extra teaching and learning to be illegal and contrary to the spirit and purpose set forth in Circular 29.
