LookAtVietnam – Secondary-school and high school students and teachers have not paid enough attention to the subject of career orientation, despite the fact that the programme has been part of the curriculum for more than three years.

Career orientation is not receiving enough attention at schools.

However, the programme has not been effective.

“What teachers taught me during career orientation lessons was rather vague, and I mostly used university enrolment guidebooks for information,” says Vo Ta Phu, a student of the HCM City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology.

Truong Quang Dung, vice principal of Nguyen Thuong Hien High school in HCM City, says that a good programme requires teachers that have talent, skills and knowledge on career orientation in order to teach it effectively.

“However, many teachers in the school are quite confused, because the format for teaching this new subject is far different from other subjects,” he says.

Career orientation courses are quite formalistic and unprofessional in many schools, according to Ho Thieu Hung, former director of HCM City’s Department of Education and Training and chairman of a project on student awareness of their future carried out by the Institute for Educational Research.

Students often do not pay much attention during lessons because this is an extra subject and they are not required to take an exam on it.

Nguyen Lan Huong, a grade-nine student at Ngo Sy Lien Secondary School in Ha Noi, says her class does not get the chance to really study the subject.

“My teacher asked us to write an essay about our career dreams in the first lesson of the school year. During another lesson, we had 45 minutes to do other things, or nothing at all,” she says.

“We all like that time because we don’t have to study. Teachers in other classes just do the same.”

A teacher in a Ha Noi secondary school, who asks to remain anonymous, says that this is true in many schools.

“The meaning and purpose of the programme is quite useful, but the implementation process is hard. Many teachers do not take account of the subject properly and just do it in a formalistic way,” she says.

She adds that there is no textbook for the subject and teachers have to lead the lesson on their own based on very general suggestions, even without professional experience in the area.

Students should be taken to universities to talk with senior students to learn more about the fields of study they want to pursue, suggests Hoang Minh Thinh, vice director of the National University of HCM City

Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc, principal of Gia Dinh Highschool, meanwhile, says that parents should not impose their own wishes on their children’s studies.

“Career orientation must also take into account the parents. In many cases, parental wishes have a lot of influence on the choice students make, even without knowing whether it is suitable or not,” Cuc says.

The Institute for Educational Research Project suggests that school managers need to spend more time on career orientation for students and include activities such as teacher training, talent clubs, consultation activities and organising forums for students.

“The first and most important thing is that students choose jobs suitable with their ability and strong points. The next thing to be considered is their interest in the job,” says Huynh Minh Son, from the Psychology Department at the University of Pedagogy in HCM City.

“Market demand for jobs and salary levels should be also be included,” he says.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News