Many centers in Vinh City still provide extra tutoring for elementary school students.
The ban on extra tutoring at the primary school level is stipulated in Circular 29 on supplementary teaching and learning. However, managing this level of education is facing many difficulties, especially with centers and teachers outside of schools.
Publicly offering extracurricular tutoring outside of school.
"Opening of the 5th grade Vietnamese language review class for Dang school, opening of the Science - History - Geography combined class, the Center has scheduled the opening of the 5th grade math review class for Dang school students at Truong Thi primary school, accepting mock entrance exams for Dang school...".
These are the advertisements that a center on Hermann Gmeiner Street (Vinh City) publicly posted on its personal page, and many parents have commented on them.
When calling the center's phone number, a staff member said they were willing to accept elementary school students for academic subjects. However, to be sure, the center required parents to bring their children in for a placement test to assess their abilities. After that, the students would be assigned to a suitable class.
In Vinh City, there have been quite a few tutoring centers for elementary school students. These centers have been a "lifesaver" for many parents since February, when many elementary school teachers were forced to stop giving extra lessons due to regulations.Circular 29Understanding the needs of parents, these centers continuously advertise new classes. The students who come are mainly 4th and 5th graders who aspire to enter selective classes at the secondary school level, or those aiming to pass the entrance exam to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School.
Besides this group, home tutoring for groups of 1-2 students is also a popular choice among parents today. The majority of these students are in grades 1, 2, and 3, as parents often lack the time or resources to care for their children and therefore seek tutoring in the evenings.
In tutoring groups in Nghe An, Vinh City, or Vinh City tutoring associations, it's not difficult to find information about students or teachers outside of schools who offer tutoring to elementary school students. The average price per student is between 100,000 and 120,000 VND per session.
Furthermore, some private school teachers are openly recruiting elementary school students for online classes via Zoom. Parents wishing to register must fill out required information such as name, address, phone number, and their children's school. Prior to this, these teachers will organize a few free Zoom sessions to test the classes and attract more participants.
A parent with a child in third grade in Vinh City said: "Previously, I used to send my child to the homeroom teacher's house in the evenings and pay her about 3 million VND per month for tutoring or for her to help parents with homework. However, she has now announced that she will no longer teach because it violates regulations, and I am planning to hire a private tutor to help my child with homework."
Difficult to manage
Having taught 5th grade for many years at a primary school in Vinh City, teacher Tran Thi Mai said that recently she has received many messages from parents sharing their concerns about "spending too much on extra classes at tutoring centers."
I don't understand why, despite Circular 29 prohibiting it, private tutoring centers are still widely available for elementary school students. My parents, whose children are preparing for the entrance exam to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, said that they wouldn't feel secure if their children didn't attend extra classes because all the other students in the class are taking extra classes and studying a lot. However, many parents can't afford these extra classes because some centers require parents to take classes in all three subjects—Literature, Math, and a combined subject (History, Geography, and Science)—six sessions a week, costing 100,000 VND per session.
Teacher Tran Thi Mai (Vinh City)
No extra classes are allowed for primary school students, except for those in the arts, sports, and life skills training as stipulated in Circular 29. However, management of this issue in Vinh City seems to be lax and lacking attention. This makes it difficult to completely enforce the ban on extra classes and leads to a situation where, while it's being suppressed internally, it's expanding externally, creating opportunities for tutoring centers and similar businesses to thrive.
In Trung Do ward, a recent inspection by the ward's People's Committee unexpectedly checked an English tutoring class for elementary school students run by a teacher at the Trung Do apartment complex.
Inspections revealed that the center had a business registration license for "Teaching English and other skills," but had not completed the regulations regarding fire safety, environmental hygiene, and facilities. Regarding this, Ms. Nguyen Thi An, a cultural official of the ward, stated: "This is the first case the ward has inspected regarding tutoring under Circular 29, and the reality shows that this facility has not complied with many regulations. For now, we require the owner to complete the necessary procedures. In addition, we prohibit tutoring for primary school students because English is also a core subject in school."
Regarding tutoring and supplementary classes, Trung Do ward can be considered a pioneer in the city, having issued regulations on tutoring and supplementary classes and assigned relevant departments and neighborhood groups to uphold their responsibilities in supervision and management, as well as strengthening inspection, monitoring, and handling of violations.
Throughout the province, Nghe An currently lacks official guidelines on supplementary tutoring. Meanwhile, there appears to be no single agency responsible for managing and inspecting supplementary tutoring. Therefore, not only at the primary school level but potentially at many other educational levels, without timely guidance and direction, supplementary tutoring that violates regulations and goes against the spirit and purpose of Circular 29 is very likely to occur.