VietNamNet Bridge – Questions about why the number of school crime cases are increasing has led to allegations of “unreasonable education methods.”

A wounded student at Thu Duc Hospital

In Hanoi, DD secondary school has become famous for girl fights. One took place because a student had a more fashionable mobile phone than her peer.

More “bad conduct”

Upon investigating the reasons behind the quarrels and fights, educators were shocked by the very simple reasons. Some students said that they beat others for staring at them. Students of TP Secondary School in HCM City decided who to target for a beating that day by “lucky draw.”

Quang Nam Education and Training Department reported that, during the 2008-2009 academic year, 4,500 secondary students (about four percent) received “bad conduct” reports. The figure was 6,500 for high school students (about 10 percent). Most received the negative reports because of fighting, smoking cigarettes, skipping class for many days or rude behavior toward students and teachers.

Hanoi high school teachers complain that the biggest problems are that students do not feel ashamed when they use foul language, violate traffic laws or cheat on exams.

Le Nguyen Huong from Nguyen Hue city High School in Hanoi noted that the percentage of delinquent students is higher in the upper grades. For example, only 20 percent of primary school students are always late to school, while the rates rise to 21 and 58 percent for secondary and high schools, respectively. Only eight percent of primary school students cheat during tests, while the rates climb to 55 percent of secondary and 60 percent of high school students.

Local police revealed that in the last five years 47,000 criminal cases were caused by students. The Vietnam Social Sciences Institute reports that 4,746 juveniles commit crimes every year.

No guidance counseling

Nguyen Thi Mai Lan, MA, from the Human Research Institute, has conducted a survey of 500 students and found that the majority lack the necessary skills to settle problems in their lives. She discovered that 40 percent of students have never joined in group activities.

One reason, according to Lan, is the unreasonable teaching curriculum of high schools.

H.T.T, a teacher from Hanoi, argues that teachers do not paid enough attention to guiding the morals and lifestyles of students. Instead of trying to understand more about students’ conditions and problems, schools only punish their violations.

Many strange forms of punishment have been utilized by teachers. Ngoc Tram, a student in Dong Thap province, revealed that she was tortured because the adults believed she had stolen some money. A teacher in HCM City forced a student to do 100 push-ups. A teacher in Ha Tinh province forced her student to lick a chair.

Dr Duong Dieu Hoa, a psychologist from the Hanoi University of Education, observed that students do not ask for advice from teachers and parents, because they lack confidence in adults.

VietNamNet/TT