Overcoming difficulties to create new momentum for education - Part 2: Efforts to effectively organize 2-session/day teaching

This policy is expected to open up opportunities to improve the quality of comprehensive education , but there are also many difficulties and challenges. The new things come with difficulties that are being gradually resolved by the education sector and localities.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training Vo Thi Minh Duyen, up to now, 100% of primary schools (456 schools) in the province have organized 2 sessions/day. For secondary and high school levels, the education sector is reviewing the conditions of facilities, staff and equipment to implement according to a suitable roadmap.

Graphics: T. Quoi

This school year, Lac Long Quan Primary School (Tuy Hoa Ward) organizes 2 sessions/day for all grades. In which, grades 1 and 2 have 5 first sessions and 2 second sessions per week. Grade 3 has 5 first sessions and 4 second sessions. Grades 4 and 5 have 5 first sessions and 3 second sessions per week.

In the second session, the school organized a review session for Math, Vietnamese and taught additional IT, English, etc. Ms. Tran Thi Bich Chau, Vice Principal of the school, said: “With the current conditions, the school organizes 2 sessions/day for students of all grades, but it still does not meet the requirements. If the school has 5 more teachers, a multi-purpose room, classrooms for Natural Sciences , Arts, IT, English, the school will increase the number of lessons for students of all grades to 9 lessons per week (5 lessons in the first session, 4 lessons in the second session), ensuring the 2018 General Education Program”.

At the secondary and high school levels, the school is currently taking feedback from parents and the actual conditions of each school on teaching two sessions a day in order to promote the effectiveness of this policy and not put pressure on students and teachers. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vinh, Party Cell Secretary and Principal of Luong The Vinh Secondary School (Quang Phu Commune), said: "In the 2025-2026 school year, the school will put a building with 8 classrooms into use. However, to implement teaching two sessions a day in all grades, the school is still short of 5 classrooms and some subject classrooms. Therefore, the school is taking feedback from parents and students on organizing the second session in many different forms and is expected to start implementing it from October 2025."

Besides schools that have organized 2 sessions/day, or conducted surveys to gather opinions to implement in early October 2025, there are currently many secondary and high schools that do not have the necessary technical facilities and teachers to teach 2 sessions/day.

Teachers from Duy Tan High School (Binh Kien Ward) instruct students on how to use AI in learning during an IT class. Photo: T. Hieu

Teachers at Duy Tan High School (Binh Kien Ward) instruct students on how to use AI in learning during an IT class. Photo: T. Hieu

Party Cell Secretary, Principal of Doan Thi Diem Secondary School (Buon Ma Thuot Ward) Tran Mau Hoa said: The whole school has 1,413 students with 30 classes, while the school only has 15 rooms, 7 subject classrooms and no multi-purpose hall, no physical education area.

Similarly, Hoang Hoa Tham Secondary School (Ea Tul commune) although having invested in facilities and classrooms, is not qualified to teach 2 sessions/day. “Studying 2 sessions/day aims to develop in the direction of enhancing teaching of culture, arts, and skill groups for comprehensive development, however, the school currently lacks teachers and equipment for teaching Fine Arts and Music. Therefore, the school hopes to receive attention from all levels and sectors in investing in badminton, soccer, volleyball courts, and equipment for teaching Music…”, Party Cell Secretary and School Principal Mai Dinh Bich shared.

To ensure the conditions for teaching two sessions a day, the education sector is continuing to strengthen the conditions for quality assurance, develop the network of schools, build more schools that meet national standards and invest in inter-level boarding schools in border communes; at the same time, reasonably allocate the teaching staff, limit the situation of local teacher surplus and shortage. Party committees at all levels, local authorities and the education sector also need to have timely support solutions for local authorities to effectively carry out educational management and teacher contracts in the context of implementing two-level local government at present.

Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Hoa Ward Huynh My Phong said: "To solve the problem of teacher shortage, the People's Committee of the ward has developed a plan and will contract 35 teachers according to the instructions of the Department of Home Affairs, the contract period is 12 months. However, this number still does not fully meet the demand for human resources because in reality, it is necessary to increase 65 teachers".

An innovative lesson according to the 2018 General Education Program. Photo: T. Hieu

According to Party Secretary and Director of the Department of Education and Training Le Thi Thanh Xuan, in the 2025-2026 school year, the Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Department of Finance to advise the Provincial People's Committee to allocate the budget to units to repair and upgrade schools and purchase equipment with a total cost of 293 billion VND. Of which, the cost of repairing classroom systems, headquarters, and auxiliary works is 203 billion VND; the cost of purchasing teaching equipment for high school according to the list is 90 billion VND. For preschool, primary, and secondary schools, the cost of repair and purchase has been decentralized to the People's Committees of communes/wards at 450 billion VND. “Infrastructure investment for schools at the beginning of the school year has achieved positive results, completing repair and upgrade items, equipping teaching and learning equipment, ensuring minimum conditions for safety and hygiene, in line with the orientation of educational development. The Department of Education and Training continues to review the number of teachers and staff to have a plan to recruit, arrange, mobilize, and train teachers and staff to ensure the number of employees for the 2025-2026 school year,” said Director of the Department of Education and Training Le Thi Thanh Xuan.

(To be continued)

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/giao-duc/202509/go-kho-tao-suc-bat-moi-cho-giao-duc-ky-2-no-luc-to-chuc-day-hoc-2-buoingay-hieu-qua-9ae0324/