Secretary Tran Luu Quang received 12 reports about extra classes on Saturdays. What did the Department of Education say?

Mr. Tran Luu Quang said that since he became Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, he has received 12 messages reflecting on the fact that students have to attend extra classes on Saturdays. Mr. Quang asked the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training about this.

Secretary Tran Luu Quang and members of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee chaired the conference - Photo: HUU HANH

On the morning of September 15, during the discussion at the 4th Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Conference (expanded), Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Hieu spoke about the target of classrooms per 10,000 school-age people (from 3 to 18 years old).

According to Mr. Hieu, the target of 300 classrooms/10,000 school-age people was set by the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee for the two terms of 2015 - 2020 and 2020 - 2025. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has achieved 297 classrooms/10,000 people.

However, this target in the old Binh Duong areas is lower, so after the merger of the three provinces, the target of classrooms/10,000 people is lower than the target of 300 classrooms set in the resolution of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term.

Mr. Hieu proposed to keep the target of 300 classrooms/10,000 people in the draft political report submitted to the 1st Congress of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, term 2025 - 2030 as a target to strive for in the new Ho Chi Minh City.

Talking to the Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang said that since he became Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, he has received 12 text messages reflecting on students having to attend extra classes on Saturdays.

"I understand that after the policy of General Secretary To Lam and the Central Government, the local education sector has a policy of not only teaching literacy but also life skills. In the messages, it is explained that the reason some schools have to study on Saturdays is because each day they only arrange 7 periods, not 8 periods. If we add life skills teaching, schools will be forced to teach on Saturdays," Mr. Quang said and asked the Director of the Department of Education and Training how this is and what the solution is.

Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Hieu - Photo: HUU HANH

In response, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Van Hieu said that studying 7 periods/day is according to the regulations in the documents of the Ministry of Education and Training. However, the Ministry also has instructions on flexibly organizing life skills activities and supporting subjects in the 2018 general education program.

Currently in the old Ho Chi Minh City area, about 70 - 80% of schools teach 2 sessions/day, while many schools, especially in the old Binh Duong area, only arrange for students to study 1 session/day. Therefore, these schools must arrange for students to study life skills subjects and additional subjects on Saturday mornings.

According to Mr. Hieu, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City has reviewed and recorded that only 24 primary schools organize extra classes for students on Saturdays.

For schools that already teach 2 sessions a day, organizing extra classes on Saturdays is based on the voluntary spirit of parents and students. If parents do not agree, schools will only organize classes from Monday to Friday.

Listening to the report, Secretary Tran Luu Quang acknowledged: "Organizing Saturday morning classes is only an exception in some schools, with the agreement and consent of parents, meaning the school must request to organize classes.

I agree with this rule and suggest that the department director review it carefully to avoid any problems. On the other hand, I also research how to implement life skills training for students well, because everyone expects the new Ho Chi Minh City to be a typical example of this."

Children go to school on Saturday morning, parents cry out!

As Tuoi Tre Online reported, in 2025 - 2026, many secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City will schedule students to go to school on Saturday mornings.

Although the 2025-2026 school year has only started for a few days, Tuoi Tre has received feedback from many parents with children studying in secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City. They are upset that their children's secondary schools require students to attend school on Saturday mornings instead of just Monday to Friday (morning and afternoon) like the previous school year.

They also disagreed with the reasons given by the school: because the regulation of teaching two sessions/day of the Ministry of Education and Training this year only allows teaching 7 periods/day instead of 8 periods/day like last school year.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bi-thu-tran-luu-quang-nhan-12-tin-phan-anh-viec-hoc-them-ngay-thu-bay-so-giao-duc-noi-gi-20250915103642807.htm