Primary and secondary school students will study full time in the coming time instead of only a half day under the scheme being applied at present. Pham Toan, an independent education researcher, and Prof Hoang Tuy talk about the programme.

Under the programme, students will have 30-35 periods a week instead of 22-23 periods. The ministry will design a single curriculum for students to study full time. Students in disadvantaged areas and ethnic minority areas will have 30 periods a week, while students in other areas will have 35 periods a week.

The programme will be implemented from 2009-2025 depending on material facilities and teachers. In the immediate time, it will be carried out at 1,600 primary schools in 150 of the most disadvantaged districts in the country.

When the programme is officially approved by the government, 40-60 schools in each locality will apply the full day study scheme right in 2009.

The Ministry of Education and Training, when deciding to apply the full-time study scheme for general school students, said this would help reduce the overloaded curriculum, and provide more time for other educational activities. However, worries have been raised about whether this will stuff students’ heads with even more knowledge.

Pham Toan: I do not think that the key to improving educational quality is dependent on a full day or half day of studying. Many famous Vietnamese persons, Nguyen Ngoc, writer, Prof Ho Ngoc Dai, Teacher Dang Thi Hanh and Le Hong Sam, went to school half day through high school.

Hoang Tuy: I know that students in many countries in the world learn at school all day. But they go there not just to learn or to be stuffed with knowledge. The most important thing we need to discuss is whether the full day study scheme can help ease the overloaded curriculum, or is it just ‘extra classes’.

As such, the key to higher efficiency in education might not necessarily be achieved by double the number of periods?

Hoang Tuy: Children need to learn by playing. However, schools nowadays do not intend to give knowledge this way. Teachers nowadays impose knowledge, while students have to receive knowledge in a passive manner.

What is your viewpoint about the single curriculum and single set textbooks, the scheme which is being applied?

Pham Toan: I think that the National Assembly should remove the resolution on a single curriculum and single set of textbooks. The monopoly in writing textbooks should be removed.

Hoang Tuy: What ‘teaching’ means is teaching how to think, how to learn, not simply reading knowledge for students to write down.

VietNamNet/TT