Looking for prestigious schools

Choosing
primary schools for children has, once again, become a hot topic on education
forums. Parents are now in the final spurt, which decides whether they can
successfully enroll into “star schools”.

Therefore,
it is now the busiest time for parents in the year. They have to spend much
time to consult with friends and relatives on what schools to choose for their
children. Then they have to handle a lot of information to make smart decisions.
And they also have to think about what to do to successfully enroll to the
schools they want.

Thu Anh, a
state employee, said that she could not imagine before that the race for
primary schools is so competitive. “My kid is entering the first grade after
the summer. Now my husband and I have to discuss about what school to send him
to. “The race has left me with a cold sweat,” she complained.

Though
primary schools will only receive applications from students in June 2011,
parents have already kicked off the race for primary schools because if they
wait it will be too late. Anh related that since February she has accessed several
education forums to gather experience about choosing schools for children.

Under the
current regulations, Anh’s son will go to a school in Cau Giay district in Hanoi. However, Anh does
not want to send him to the school, because the school is not prestigious.

“A good
beginning makes a good ending,” Anh said, stressing that her son needs to go to
a prestigious school. If so, he will have a good beginning on his path of
learning, which will ensure a good future for him.

After
consulting with a lot of relatives and friends, Anh decided to enroll in a
school in Hoan Kiem district in Hanoi.

Like Thu
Anh, Tuyet, who lives in Long Bien District in Hanoi, also had to spend many days to think
about what school would be suitable for her son.

At first,
Tuyet intended to send her son to an international school. However, she was
warned that her son may be bad at Vietnamese language if he studies at an
international school. Therefore, Tuyet gave up the idea of sending her son to a
western-style school.

After that
Tuyet wanted to send the child to private schools, believing that private schools can provide better education quality
than state-owned schools. But which private school to choose? After a lot of
thoughts, she has chosen a newly opened private school, ending the campaign of
looking for schools for her son.

Hunting for qualified teachers

It is very
difficult to obtain a seat at a prestigious school, but it is even more
difficult to obtain a seat at the selected class of the school.

Many
schools in Hanoi
have selected classes, i.e the classes gathering the best students run by the
best teachers. Therefore, all parents want their children to be able to study
in the selected classes.

However,
Thu Anh said she does not “dream” of obtaining a seat in such a class. “The
school will consider the job titles of the persons who “sponsor” the students
to decide which classes students will be put in,” Anh explained.

In general,
parents try to “hunt” for qualified teachers before their children go to
school. After consulting with friends and getting information about the best
teachers of the schools, parents will try to send their children to the private
tutoring classes run by qualified teachers. After that, the parents will ask
the teachers to allow their children to study at curricular classes also
managed by the same teachers at the schools.

Nguyen Huong