A teacher gives a reading and writing lesson to a first-grade class at Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School in Ho Chi Minh City

Parents say overbearing schoolwork puts too much pressure on their children while teachers blame curricula, and administrators blame teachers.

He wakes up at 6 a.m. to go to school and returns at 4:30 p.m. Once home, he takes a shower, has dinner and does his homework until 9:30 p.m. before going to bed in order to wake up early the next day, she said.

Many parents have echoed Bich’s concerns, saying their children have had to study far more than should be necessary for a first-grader.

But teachers, school administrators and those in charge of curricula are blaming one another for the problem.

“The curriculum is too heavy,” said Le Dinh of Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, whose child is also in first grade. “We have to take them to classes outside of school in order to keep up with the program.”

“The children are told to write down teacher’s words one month after school begins, before they are even taught to write fully,” he said. “They don’t even know how to hold a pen properly yet. It is really painful to see their low marks, including zeros, for errors.”

The parent of a first grader in Ho Chi Minh City who wished to remain unnamed also said he had to pack ten school books for his child every morning before class, which begins at 5:45 a.m.

“I have to tutor him every day after class, so I have no time to rest after work.”

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A teacher at a primary school in HCMC’s District 3 who wished to remain anonymous said children were now forced to remember more concepts in a quicker period of time than before.

“Children had to study two or three consonants, diphthongs or triphthongs a day instead of one like the previous program. They get confused easily.”

Huynh Anh Phuc, principal of the Phuoc Long Primary School in HCMC’s District 9, said the current standard first grade curriculum was not a “premium” one.

Parents also complain that teachers’ penchant for favoring advanced students has pushed them to enroll their kids in preschool reading and writing courses, compounding the pressure.

Phuc said studying reading and writing in advance of first grade should be banned as it created difficulties for both students and their teachers who then have to teach various skill levels in one class.

‘Too intense’

A teacher at Khuong Thuong Primary School in Hanoi’s Dong Da District admitted that the first grade curriculum there was “too intense.”

“In math, first grade children now have to completely understand numbers from 1-5 within the first month of the school year,” she said.

In contrast to Phuc, she said parents should tutor their children or teach them in advance to help them keep pace with the curriculum better.

Nguyen Thi Phuong, a teacher at Ninh Giang Primary School in Hai Duong Province, said most of her first grade students were struggling to keep up with their work, which she described as heavy and complicated for their age level.

Encouragement vs. criticism

Le Tien Thanh, head of the Ministry of Education’s Primary Education Department, said the teachers’ allegations about curricula were baseless.

He said authorities should review the teaching methods of any teacher who blamed problems on heavy curriculum or asked children to do too much homework or attend outside classes.

He said his ministry had already modified its primary education program after similar complaints from parents during the last academic year.

Teachers used to teach the full content of all school textbooks, including appendices that were unnecessary, he said.

He said many teachers criticize their children instead of encouraging them to work harder, arguing that it has been this methodology, not the curricula, that has put pressure on them.

Pham Xuan Tien, head of Hanoi Department of Education’s Primary Education Section, also said teachers shouldn’t always give low marks when students make mistakes.

“Low marks put pressure on the children and their parents while encouragement is a more effective way to elicit improvement,” he said. “For example, a teacher could say ‘you should take more time to think about the question and I will ask you later’ instead of just giving the student a low score.”

Reported by Tue Nguyen