Parents in Vinh City worried about news of French class cancellation
Before the enrollment day for grade 6, parents whose children are studying French at Le Loi Primary School (Vinh City) were suddenly informed that enrollment for French classes would be temporarily suspended. This was unexpected because this subject has been taught and studied at the school for many years.
No new French class recruitment
"I have 3 children studying French, the oldest is in 11th grade, the second is about to enter 6th grade and the third is in 3rd grade. My family has a tradition of studying French and the children all love this subject so I want them to be involved in it for a long time. Now there is information that there will be no new French classes, which makes me very worried and uneasy - said Ms. Tran Lan, a parent of Le Loi Primary School.
Le Loi Secondary School (Vinh City) has just announced enrollment for grade 6 for the 2024-2025 school year. Accordingly, this school year the school will enroll 8 classes, including 2 intensive English classes and 1 intensive Stem class. This year's enrollment plan, unlike previous years, does not enroll French class 6, which is the school's traditional class.
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Upon receiving this notice, 28 parents whose children had just finished the 5th grade French course at Le Loi Primary School were worried. As in previous years, according to tradition, all of these students would move up to the 6th grade to study the French program. However, with this change, the French language study has been terminated. Instead, they will be enrolled like other regular classes and from the 6th grade they will study English.
Up to now, Le Loi Primary School and Le Loi Secondary School are the two schools in the province that teach French for students in the general education category. The implementation of this class is part of the Bilingual and French Enhancement Program implemented by the Ministry of Education and Training in 14 provinces and cities, including Nghe An.
Regarding this program, recently on July 4, 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Document No. 3365/BGDĐT – GDTrH on organizing bilingual classes and enhancing French from the 2024-2025 school year.
Notably, in the document, the Ministry clearly stated that for students who have been enrolled in bilingual or French-enhanced classes, the Department of Education and Training needs to create conditions for students to continue implementing the program until the end of their grade. It will not continue to organize exams and consider graduation for bilingual programs and French-enhanced programs at middle and high schools.
In addition, according to the Ministry's instructions, from the 2024-2025 school year, the Ministry will not enroll students in classes implementing the French Bilingual Program. Instead, student enrollment in French classes under the 2018 General Education Program will be carried out according to the current enrollment regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training for primary, middle and high school levels.
Thus, with this new document, if Nghe An continues to implement the French bilingual program, it will not be suitable. Meanwhile, at the secondary level, for many years now, French classes in secondary schools have taught French and English in parallel.
When the new document was released, we were very concerned because French has been maintained for many years in Vinh city. The current problem is that although it is taught at primary and secondary levels, there are no high schools in the province that teach French. The French specialized class at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted has recently had not many students passing the French class at Le Loi Secondary School. This difference in Nghe An is also very different from other provinces and cities. Therefore, maintaining a French class with French as the first foreign language will be very difficult.
Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of Education and Training Department of Vinh City
Need to ensure student rights
Regarding the temporary suspension of French language class enrollment for grade 6 this school year, the principal of Le Loi Secondary School confirmed the above content and said "the school will follow the guidance documents of the Ministry and the direction of the Department and the Department of Education and Training".
Faced with this issue, this week, parents whose children are studying in the French bilingual program (grades 2, 3, 4, 5) submitted a petition to relevant agencies. In it, parents expressed their "confusion and anxiety". According to the petition, when the children entered primary school, the school and the education sector encouraged their children to study in French bilingual classes and families were also very enthusiastic about letting their children study this language. This is the foundation for the children to take the entrance exam to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted or to study abroad in France. Therefore, dropping out of French classes without a specific roadmap will cause many difficulties and affect the children's spirit. Moreover, if they do not continue with French classes, when they reach grade 6, it will be difficult for them to keep up with their friends studying the English program.
With the above reality, the wish of parents and students is to create conditions for students who have studied French in primary school to study French as a second foreign language at Le Loi Secondary School, even willing to pay tuition and take responsibility for the French results.
Regarding this content, through discussion, Mr. Nguyen Minh Khoa - Principal of Le Loi Secondary School added: We continue to teach French classes for grades 7, 8 and 9. However, we cannot implement the enrollment at the beginning of the year because there is no French class in the enrollment plan this year. We can only accept the opinions of parents and students and present them to higher authorities for consideration.
It was learned that, in addition to worrying about not having a French class at the secondary school, 16/28 parents who live outside the district whose children are in grade 5 at Le Loi Primary School are worried that if there is no French class, their children will have to go back to their local ward to study grade 6. If so, their children will have difficulty integrating with other classes in English because in fact, they have not studied English for 5 years. Meanwhile, other children have studied English from grade 1 to grade 5.
There are 28 students in the class, but only 12 of them have household registration in Le Loi ward and will be able to study in the right area. The rest of us will have to return to our old hometown to study. This will cause many disadvantages because first, our children have been studying French for a long time, now they have to return to study English (when the other students have been studying for 5 years), so they will not be able to keep up.
Furthermore, since we enrolled our children in French classes at primary school, we have set a goal for them to pursue French and study long-term at Le Loi Primary and Secondary School. Now transferring them back to their old school is unfair.
A parent whose child used to study in class 5A - Le Loi Primary School
Regarding the above concerns, Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City said: We have the opinion that if the Ministry stops French classes, there needs to be a roadmap to ensure the rights of students. In the immediate future, the Department of Education and Training of the city will receive opinions from parents and students and in the upcoming enrollment season, we will still create conditions for all French students from primary school to study at Le Loi Secondary School.
In the new school year, we can consult with parents. If parents wish, French can be taught in an enhanced program because the school has teachers and other favorable conditions.
