Le Tien Thanh, Director of the Primary Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) talked about the wave of teaching children to prepare them for the 1st class.

For example, in kindergartens, teachers can help children count the number of children in the same classes, or show them the names of things on pictures and video clips. The organization of teaching writing and mathematics at the extra classes to children before they go to the 1^st class proves to be illegal. Our clear viewpoint is that children less than six years old must not be taught the syllabus designed for the first class students.

However, you may well know that the teaching to the children of less than six years has still been carried out on a massive scale?

We should look into the issue from two angles. I think that the demand for teaching children is high from the children’s parents. The parents want to well prepare their children for school and bring their children to classes sooner. Other parents follow the move, fearing that their children will lag behind in the classes if they do not know how to write and read before going to school.

Besides, teachers at primary schools have become used to the fact that their students can read and write, and they do not follow the syllabus set by the Ministry of Education and Training.

What should we do to limit the teaching to children of less than six years old, and prevent from writing practice classes’ boom?

The control and prevention of the extra classes need to be undertaken by local authorities and local education and training departments. The teaching of children before they go the 1^st class in schools under any form must be stopped.

Parents said that they have to bring their children to extra classes because some famous schools only receive students who can read and write. Is this legal?

I can say that state-owned primary schools must not organize competitions to select students for 1^st classes. Meanwhile, private run schools are allowed to select students under some way, but they must not require students to read and write and do mathematics questions. They can only select students after testing the students’ capability in language and some other skills.

How do you think children should be prepared before they go to school?

Children will be put under hard pressure if they have to learn the syllabus designed for older students. This will make students either afraid of learning or inattentive when they are at school.

VietNamNet/TT