Flexible implementation, with a roadmap to implement 2 sessions/day teaching

Photo caption — To effectively organize 2 sessions/day teaching, the first requirement is that the teaching staff must be sufficient and properly allocated.

Accordingly, many schools have adjusted their timetables, reducing the number of classes per day but increasing the number of classes during the week. This allows students to have Saturdays off, while also creating conditions for teachers and students to have more time to rest and participate in other activities. However, the implementation process has also revealed shortcomings, requiring guaranteed resources and a suitable roadmap.

Timetable changes, problems arise

Instead of studying 6 mornings a week as before, students at many middle and high schools now study from Monday to Friday, with Saturday off. To compensate, they study 2-3 afternoons a week.

Although the Ministry of Education and Training has issued guidelines on the distinction between the main school session (session 1) and supplementary activities (session 2), many schools in Nghe An have not yet fully implemented it. In fact, most of them have only "stretched" the timetable, moving some main school sessions to the afternoon. The main reason is the lack of facilities and resources to organize supplementary educational activities.

Mr. Le Thang Long, Principal of Town 2 Secondary School (Van An Commune) admitted: “In addition to regular teaching, we have built a number of educational activities outside of class hours but not regularly because the school does not have the conditions to implement them. Inviting artists, athletes... to participate is also beyond our capacity.”

Many principals also said that the content of the second session is mainly limited to nurturing excellent students, reviewing for final exams or providing extra classes in some favorable schools (for a fee). Extracurricular activities and experiences are difficult to maintain regularly due to lack of teachers and resources.

At Muong Qua High School (Mon Son commune), Mr. Hoang Nhu Lam - Principal said that in addition to the morning, there are 3 afternoon classes per week, including 1 session for extracurricular activities such as English Club activities and experiential programs. However, many subjects have only 1 teacher, so the afternoon schedule is difficult to implement synchronously and must be extended throughout the week according to different grades.

The implementation of the new model also posed many challenges. Some teachers who live far away had to bring lunch to stay at school to teach in the afternoon; parents increased the number of times they pick up and drop off their children to four times a day, causing disruption to daily life. The constantly changing school schedule also affected students' time arrangements.

The biggest challenge is the lack of teachers and facilities. The regulation of the maximum number of lessons to only 7 lessons/day for all 3 levels of education forces schools to arrange lessons more widely, causing difficulties in organization. Many teachers have to teach more than the prescribed number of lessons but schools do not have the funds to pay. Mobilizing social resources to invite experts and artisans to teach is also difficult due to concerns about increasing the financial burden on parents and violating current regulations.

Flexible deployment with roadmap

According to the instructions of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, the teaching content of 2 sessions/day is flexibly arranged. In which, session 1 is the time to implement the official general education program with compulsory teaching content. Session 2 will implement 2 contents, including reviewing and tutoring students who have not met the program requirements; nurturing excellent students; organizing review for students to take the entrance exam to grade 10, high school graduation exam. In addition, the school can arrange activities according to students' wishes, but each student must not exceed 11 sessions/week.

For the secondary school level, schools are allowed to propose the arrangement of teachers to teach in inter-schools to overcome the situation of local surplus and shortage. Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoan, Chief of Office - Communications, Nghe An Department of Education and Training, said that the organization of teaching 2 sessions/day must be done voluntarily, depending on the actual situation at the schools and without collecting additional fees from students. All these activities must comply with the regulations on extra teaching and learning, without collecting fees, and without incurring additional costs for parents. To organize 2 sessions/day effectively, the first requirement is that the teaching staff must be sufficient and reasonably allocated.

To overcome these difficulties and improve efficiency, many schools have organized flexible classes such as mornings focusing on core subjects to consolidate knowledge, while afternoons are reserved for review activities, tutoring or extracurricular topics.

Along with that, schools build clubs for sports, arts, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)... for students to choose according to their interests and talents; apply information technology, use learning management software, online lecture systems for students to review at home, reducing pressure to study in class.

Despite such efforts, many schools also believe that although there are guidelines in principle, implementation still requires specific instructions from the Ministry of Education and Training on mobilizing social resources and what content is collected...

"Without specific guidance, schools that recruit contract teachers, teachers who teach extra hours, invite artists, athletes... to teach at school will have to pay for the expenses, but collecting money from parents for the second session is very likely to violate regulations on revenue, expenditure and regulations on extra teaching and learning," said Mr. Nguyen Van Dan, Principal of Hien Son Middle School, Bach Ha commune.

Teaching two sessions a day means that teachers have to teach more classes, while many schools still lack teachers according to the staffing, especially for integrated subjects and new subjects. Therefore, there needs to be a reasonable teaching time policy for teachers. Afternoon classes should be counted as regular classes, not considered "concurrent" or "remedial", to ensure teachers' rights. Schools also need to arrange a scientific teaching schedule to avoid teachers being overloaded, especially in classes with high numbers of students.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Tuan, Vice Principal of Tuong Duong 1 High School, Tuong Duong Commune, proposed: "It is necessary to prioritize the construction of more classrooms, cafeterias, and boarding houses, especially in disadvantaged areas, to meet the requirements of organizing 2 sessions/day; supplement and train the teaching staff. Increase the recruitment of teachers in the subjects that are lacking; train the capacity to organize experiential activities and integrated education for existing teachers."

For effective implementation, the Ministry of Education and Training needs to have unified direction, specific regulations on the maximum number of class periods and detailed instructions on mobilizing social resources to ensure the effective implementation of the 2-session/day teaching model. Schools need to implement flexibly, with a roadmap and with support measures for schools that currently do not have sufficient facilities and teaching staff.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/thuc-hien-linh-hoat-co-lo-trinh-de-trien-khai-day-hoc-2-buoingay-20250924113151901.htm