Summer activity form:Old format - new requirements
The summer activity form has been in use for many years, becoming a tool for schools to connect students with the Youth Union, the Young Pioneers, and the local community during the summer break.
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Thanh Quynh(Perform)/Present: Hong Toai •20/9/2026
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The Summer Activity Form has been in use for many years, becoming a tool for schools to connect students with the Youth Union, the Young Pioneers, and the local community during the summer break.However, as children's needs for play, learning, and experiences become increasingly diverse in terms of space and form, the verification of Summer Activity Vouchers raises new questions: Is the voucher a mandatory requirement? How should the recording process be carried out to be convenient for students and parents while ensuring genuine participation in summer activities?
Nghe An's newspapers, radio, and television had an exchange with Comrade Ho Phuc Hai - Member of the Central Committee of the Youth Union, Standing Deputy Secretary in charge of the Nghe An Provincial Youth Union - regarding related issues.
Comrade Ho Phuc Hai:It is necessary to distinguish between organizing summer activities for children and students and the Summer Activity Form. Organizing summer activities for children and students is a sound policy aimed at creating a safe, healthy, and beneficial environment for play and training during the summer break.
However, there is currently no general legal regulation stating that the Summer Activities Certificate is a mandatory document for all students. Nor is there any regulation stating that all students must have this certificate to be promoted to the next grade or to have their academic and behavioral performance evaluated.
However, from the perspective of Youth Union and Young Pioneers activities, the Provincial Youth Union recognizes that the Summer Activity Form plays a very practical connecting role: When students are on summer break, it serves as a tool for schools to connect them with the Youth Union and Young Pioneers organizations in their residential areas. From there, the local authorities receive, organize activities, manage, and care for the children. After the summer ends, there is a basis for reconnecting and returning them to the school. Therefore, the value of the Summer Activity Form lies in the connection and handover, not in the form itself.
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Comrade Ho Phuc Hai:According to the Provincial Youth Union, the Summer Activity Form remains meaningful and necessary, but the implementation method needs to be more flexible.
Nowadays, children have many choices during their summer vacation, such as learning a foreign language, developing talents, participating in sports, skill-building activities, STEM programs, experiencing new things, visiting their hometowns, or traveling with their families. Therefore, youth organizations should not interpret summer activities as simply requiring children to be present at a local meeting point.
It is important that when students are handed over to their local communities, they are connected with the Youth Union and Children's Union organizations, given opportunities to participate in appropriate activities, and recognized based on their actual performance. The new guidelines from the Central Youth Union also require that activities in their place of residence be practical, safe, and appropriate to the needs and conditions of the locality and the participants.
Therefore, the Provincial Youth Union supports researching more flexible forms of recognition, including for educational, sports, skills, and cultural activities that students actually participate in at appropriate institutions.But a unified mechanism is needed to avoid different approaches in different places.
Comrade Ho Phuc Hai:Researching the new mechanism requires coordination between the Education sector, the Youth Union and Children's Union, and local authorities to ensure uniformity from the student handover process and activity organization to the recording of results.
In addition to activities organized by the Youth Union and Children's Union at the local level, it is possible to research and record appropriate educational, sports, cultural, and skills-building activities that children participate in at legitimate, organized facilities where their participation can be verified.
However, this is an issue that needs careful study, because expanding the form of recognition without unified criteria could lead to different interpretations and implementations among localities, and even create new procedures.
In the coming period, the Provincial Youth Union will coordinate with the Education sector to research and guide more flexible forms of recognition to both facilitate students, parents, and schools, while ensuring the local government's management and educational role.
Comrade Ho Phuc Hai:The Provincial Youth Union does not have a policy of collecting money from students or parents to certify Summer Activity Forms.
It is necessary to distinguish between the cost of organizing a summer activity and the money collected simply to confirm the summer activity form. If a specific activity incurs expenses, the mobilization, collection, and use of these funds must be justified, comply with regulations, and be transparent and open.
However, if a fee is imposed simply to confirm student participation in summer activities, the basis for that fee needs to be clearly explained.
The Provincial Youth Union's stance is to prevent the Summer Activity Voucher from becoming a reason for unnecessary fees charged to parents and students.
The Provincial Youth Union will request local Youth Union branches and authorities to investigate and verify specific complaints. If any fees are found to be collected improperly, they must be promptly rectified.
Comrade Ho Phuc Hai:According to the Provincial Youth Union, handing over students to their local communities must be accompanied by the responsibility of organizing activities and creating an environment for them to have fun and develop during the summer.
Activities don't necessarily have to be large-scale, but they must be practical, safe, and appropriate. These could include sports, culture, reading, skills development, STEM, traditional education, drowning prevention, community activities, etc. The Central Youth Union's guidelines also direct many such types of activities.
In Nghe An province, summer activities at the grassroots level are becoming increasingly diverse, engaging, and suitable for children. Each locality has its own approach and strengths, but the common point is that localities are striving to ensure that children's summer days are not just a time for rest, but also a time for fun, training, interaction, and discovering new things right in their own neighborhoods.
Anyone who participated in the recent summer activities in areas such as Yen Thanh, Do Luong, Nam Dan communes, Tan Mai ward, Quynh Luu commune… and many other localities in the province will surely have felt the vibrant atmosphere of the Scout troop ceremony rehearsals in the villages and hamlets there. For many years, Scout troop ceremony rehearsals have become a familiar activity in summer activities in many localities of Nghe An, attracting a large number of children and receiving the attention and support of parents, thereby creating practical summer playgrounds right in residential areas.
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In addition, during the summer, many children participate in group games, folk games, arts and culture, folk dances, sports, and martial arts. They are also equipped with practical knowledge and skills such as preventing drowning and injuries; participating in safe traffic; and protecting themselves in the online environment.
Many Youth Union branches also organize festivals, camps, and sports programs with the participation of a large number of children. Through these, the children have the opportunity to stand on stage, compete, showcase their talents, interact with friends, and become more confident in front of a group.
In particular, during youth union meetings, many units organized folk singing classes for students. This provided them with a recreational space while also allowing them to learn the songs and gain a deeper understanding of their homeland's culture. Alongside this were activities related to environmental protection and showing gratitude. Each approach may differ, but it's undeniable that these efforts have contributed to creating a safe, healthy, and enriching summer environment for the children.
However, in reality, some areas face difficulties in organizing summer activities due to a shortage of manpower, facilities, and personnel. These are issues that need to be considered when organizing summer activities.
However, organizational difficulties do not mean that the recognition should be merely a formality. If a locality does not organize or organizes very few activities but still issues recognition to all students, it needs to be reviewed and rectified. The spirit of the Provincial Youth Union is: Where there is handover, there must be acceptance. Where there is acceptance, there must be activities. Only through actual participation can there be a basis for recognition.
The Provincial Youth Union will strengthen guidance, inspection, and monitoring of the situation at the grassroots level to ensure that the verification process is linked to actual activities, guaranteeing honesty and objectivity.
Comrade Ho Phuc Hai:We hope parents will see summer activities not just as a requirement to be fulfilled for a certificate at the end of the summer, but as a way to collaborate with the Youth Union, the Children's Union, and the local community to create a truly meaningful summer for their children. There, children can meet friends, develop skills, have fun, explore, and grow through activities organized by the Youth Union and Children's Union in a way that is close to their own neighborhood.
For students, while each may have different choices during the summer break, from studying, sports, and talents to family trips, connecting with friends, the community, and the local Youth Union/Youth Organization is also extremely important. We hope that students will unleash their creativity and boldly propose new ways and activities that suit their interests and needs. From there, together with the Youth Union members and young people, we can create more vibrant and practical activities, contributing to a more meaningful summer.
On the part of the Youth Union and Children's Union, it is also necessary to continue innovating so that summer activities are truly closer to the needs and desires of children. When organizations are responsible, parents are involved, and children actively participate, the confirmation of Summer Activity Certificates will have a solid basis and meaning.
What we hope for is that a single registration form doesn't become the ultimate goal of the entire summer, and even less so that there are no fraudulent registrations. What matters most is that the children truly participate, have fun, learn, experience, and have a safe and enriching summer.
