Parents worry that current competitions for teens require numerous school absences and lengthy commitments.

A performance in a competition for teen.

They have different names, but similar criteria: teen competitions that seek beautiful and dynamic young contestants, who flock in droves to enter.

The 3^rd Dancing Contest for Teenagers 2009 named “Buoc Nhay Xi Tin” attracted nearly 200 troupes, raising the total of members of the “Buoc Nhay Xi Tin” club to nearly 10,000.

Beginning on May 30, 2009 this year, “Miss Teen” is a very popular annual event for teens. The final round will take place in HCM City in early October.

To select the model Vietnamese teenagers, the “School Envoy 2009” competition will hold its final round in November.

The newspaper for students, Muc Tim, has also launched a competition for teens called “Oxy & Acne’s Dynamic Pairs,” luring thousands of competitors. Winners will be named on October 3 in Hanoi.

Concerned Parents

All these competitions take place over several months, with many rounds. For example, “Hot Vteen” kicked off on September 3, but it will last until January 2010.

Because of long competitions and extra activities, contestants have to be absent from school for many days.

“If I knew this beforehand, I would have not allowed my daughter to enter this competition,” complained Mrs. Tam, the mother of a teen contestant. “She is an 11^th grader, so it is terrible to miss school like this. The long competition also makes affects her spirit and health.”

She worries that her daughter will be absent from school for two weeks to go to HCM City for the contest. “Although the organizing board asked her school’s permission for her absence, I’m still worried that she cannot keep up with her study schedule,” Tam asserted.

She also detailed how her daughter spent a lot of time practicing her presentation, walking, singing, etc. She couldn’t deter her daughter from participation because she likes the competition very much.

“I didn’t want to allow my daughter to participate in this contest because she is preparing for final exams and university entrance exams,” a mother from HCM City remarked. “But she is very interested in it and begged me to agree. It would be better if this contest was organized during the summer holiday.”

Non-interventionist policy

A representative of the School Envoy contest said that the organizers would try to offer sideline activities or competitions on weekends. Such schedules still privilege contestants from big cities like Hanoi and HCM City, where the competitions are held. Contestants from other provinces must arrange time for these events.

Nguyen Duy Phuc, the headmaster of Ngo Quyen High School in Dong Nai province, observed that teen competitions are not regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training or local Departments of Education and Training. Therefore, he explained, schools don’t have the right to intervene in their students’ decisions.

One of his students became Miss Teen 2008, Huyen Trang. Phuc stated that he is glad for her and noted that this title has benefited her in some ways.

Teachers argue that the most important task of students is studying and they should only take part in short contests organized by schools or departments of education and training.

Lengthy, nationwide contests with many extra activities like filming, taking photographs and performing, they believe, will affect students’ studies negatively.

VietNamNet/VNE