VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training is reviewing the curriculum for the “citizenship education” subject, which has been complained about by teachers and students as being boring and difficult to understand.

Meanwhile, 9^th class students have to solve a family problem: Hung, 27, has loved Mai, 25, for three years. The two want to get married, but they are not supported by Mai’s family, because Hung follows another religion. Mai’s family has asked Hung to marry another girl, because they believe that the couple would be unhappy.

These students have to learn many concepts about conscience, love and family functions. Some say they just try to learn the concepts by heart, like learning mathematics formulas. A 7^th class student said he just tried to memorise the diagram of the state apparatus, while he did not really understand it. Meanwhile, the 9^th class students are being asked to analyse a situation in which they cannot possibly have any direct experience.

Nguyen Hang Nga, a student at Phan Chu Trinh Secondary School in Hanoi, said that she is burdened by too much information like this, which she often does not understand. However, Nga and her friends still have to try to learn the concepts by heart in order to pass exams.

Meanwhile, teachers also say they themselves are not happy. Duong Thai Huyen Nga, who has 20 years of experience in teaching the subject, said that it is really too much for secondary and high school students to learn concepts in philosophy, dialectical materialism and macroeconomics. Not to mention too boring.

VietNamNet/TT