Why does education require so much asking and giving?

Candidates for master's degree must also apply to the school for permission to be added to the exam list - Screenshot

Recently, when I registered my child for after-school activities at elementary school, the school asked me to fill out an application form.

Why not just an extracurricular registration form instead of having to "ask"? The "asking-granting" habit seems to be ingrained in the paperwork habits of many educational institutions.

Please give?

It is worth mentioning that this is a paid after-school service, whether or not to let children study depends on the needs of parents and students, not a compulsory educational service. But still have to ask.

In fact, this is just a "request" for administrative documents, but it seems that the old habit of having to request for any application has become a habit of many people.

Gradually, the same goes for middle school and high school. Even when registering for the aptitude test, you have to fill out an "exam registration form".

Not only formal educational institutions, but also private foreign language centers outside, when registering their children to study, parents must also fill out an "application for admission". The center spends money and effort on advertising to find students, but when they arrive, the students must fill out an application for admission.

The mentality of asking for things from the last century is still deeply rooted in many areas of social life, including education. From elementary school to university and even post-graduate school, parents and students still have to "beg" for the school to "give" them things.

Equal relationships are not respected, using paid services but students and parents are always at a disadvantage.

Asking and giving are not only found in high school. Universities and graduate schools are also full of them. It can be seen that when universities become autonomous and charge high tuition fees, their service style also changes to educational services, serving students. That is what the schools say.

But the reality is not as good as the words say. Students still have to ask for all kinds of things even though they have to pay for these services.

Application for transcript, application for student confirmation, application for result reservation, application for exam review, application for graduation consideration, application for student confirmation...

Not only that, the service that students at some schools receive is indifferent, unpleasant, even grumpy attitudes from department staff.

A student at a university said that whenever he had any problems, he would call the school’s departments to ask. From the training department to the accounting department, they all had a very unpleasant attitude. Every year, the school and students had a dialogue, but their opinions remained unchanged.

At a large autonomous public university in Ho Chi Minh City, students who want to take a master's degree exam must also fill out a "master's degree application form".

However, this is no longer a "request" on administrative documents, but the attitude of the graduate staff is also shown in a superior manner, not considering students as customers and the school as a service provider.

When I went to the graduate office to ask for information, a young staff member answered blankly, with no subject in the sentence, just answering for the sake of it.

This "request" is not unique to one university. At another public university in Ho Chi Minh City, candidates who want to take the master's or doctoral entrance exams must fill out an "application".

In the application, the candidate must ask the school's admissions board to "allow me to register for the master's and doctoral exam/admission". Candidates are eligible to register for the exam/admission, why do they have to ask?

Equal education

Of course, there are problems that arise from the student himself, requiring the school’s approval, so asking for permission is necessary. Requesting leave of absence, requesting permission to be absent from exams, requesting to cancel a course, requesting to pay late tuition… Other problems can be replaced by a request or registration form.

Everything requires an application from high school to university. After university, the habit of asking and giving has formed. Even when applying for a job, many people follow the habit of applying for a job.

The act of asking and giving in writing has more or less influenced the superior working style and attitude of many people.

Sometimes a request - even if it only appears on paper - can cause discomfort to the recipient.

When education is considered a service, especially at the university level, in addition to improving and enhancing the facilities for learners, there is also the attitude of department staff.

Many schools use "request forms", "request papers"...

There has been a significant change in universities, at least in terms of paperwork. Among the 15 forms for students at the University of Technology (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) there is no application form. Instead there are registration forms, request forms, requests.

Similarly, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Ton Duc Thang University is the application form, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics is the application form...

As society develops, equality is increasingly valued, especially in autonomous schools that provide educational services.

Asking and giving in education needs to be eliminated starting from seemingly small things that only exist on administrative documents.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giao-duc-sao-nhieu-cai-phai-xin-cho-vay-20241010110806334.htm