Why does Le Quy Don Secondary School (Hai Duong City) let students take Saturday off?

Circular No. 29/2024/TT - BGDĐT dated December 30, 2024 of the Minister of Education and Training regulating extra teaching and learning took effect from February 14, meaning that the majority of students in grades 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 will no longer be able to take extra afternoon classes at school as before.

At this time, there are few tutoring and extra-curricular centers in operation, so many parents cannot find a place for their children to study. While many parents work all day, especially civil servants, public employees, and company workers, their children staying home in the afternoon makes them even more worried.

In response to the above situation, Le Quy Don Secondary School has proposed to change the educational plan to suit the practical conditions. The school has given students Saturdays off and adjusted the formal educational plan so that students can still study in the afternoon at schools.

Specifically, from Monday to Friday, students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will study 4 periods in the morning instead of 5 periods as before, only grade 6 will study 5 periods on Wednesday morning. Due to the nature of grade 9 students being final year students, they will still study 5 periods in the morning, only 4 periods on Thursday morning; only 2 periods are taught on Saturday morning to nurture excellent students, the rest of the students will have the whole day off on Saturday.

Most afternoons from Monday to Friday, students of all grades continue to study in school for 2-3 periods. Only grade 6 has a break on Wednesday afternoons, and grade 8 has a break on Friday afternoons. During the afternoon at school, in addition to regular classes and review sessions for grade 9 students, students will participate in reading hours, do learning projects, learn English with foreigners or participate in cultural, artistic, sports and art clubs.

Teacher Le Thi Thanh Binh, Principal of Le Quy Don Secondary School, said that after the end of the 4 morning classes, if any parents can pick up their children, they will still pick them up, but students whose parents have not picked them up will not be allowed to leave the school until the end of the 5th period to wait for their parents to pick them up. During this free time, students can go to the library or participate in other activities at school.

Ms. Binh said that after introducing the idea of ​​this educational plan, teachers and parents of students agreed. Teachers all determined that this was their responsibility at a high-quality secondary school in Hai Duong City. This change not only helps students study and manage at school in the afternoons but also makes parents feel much more secure. The school has the conditions to organize professional activities and collective activities on Saturdays.

“It is appropriate for students to have 2 full days off on the weekend to have fun and explore many activities other than the knowledge in books. This is an orientation for students to develop comprehensively, which has been shown in the goals to be achieved in the 2018 general education program. During the implementation process, the school will flexibly change the education plan to suit the reality and regulations of the superiors,” said Ms. Binh.

Like most other parents, Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Ha, who works at Hai Duong City Electricity, has a child studying in grade 7 at Le Quy Don Secondary School. She said she was worried about how to handle her child being at home in the afternoons, but was excited to receive a notice asking for opinions on changes to the school's teaching plan.

“We are very grateful to the school for having a reasonable plan that suits the wishes of the majority of parents as well as the actual conditions of many families. Studying at school in the afternoon helps us worry less, and our children study and live in a very good environment. In particular, having 2 days off on the weekend will help the children have more time with their families and participate in soft skills development activities. This is a good way of the school that needs to be replicated,” said Ms. Ha.

Through the survey, the Department of Education and Training of Hai Duong City found that many schools in the core area of ​​the city also had the idea of ​​changing the teaching plan like Le Quy Don Secondary School, but it was difficult to implement. The main reason was that many teachers did not agree, especially those with subjects with few teaching hours and low income. These teachers already had personal plans for the afternoons, so they wanted to teach in the morning. Meanwhile, schools in the outskirts of the city did not have the need for students to study in the afternoon because families traditionally let their children go home from school by themselves.

Another part is that many schools do not have enough facilities, equipment or staff, so they cannot do it. There are also secondary schools that want to change their teaching plans, such as Le Quy Don Secondary School, but they cannot do it because regular students are divided into morning and afternoon classes. These are secondary schools: Tan Binh, Tu Minh and Le Hong Phong.

Ms. Le Thi Hoa, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Hai Duong City, said that the Department of Education and Training agreed with the policy of changing the teaching plan of Le Quy Don Secondary School, and at the same time guided the school to develop an educational plan; unify and collect opinions from the pedagogical council and parents to create high consensus and unanimity. The Department also directed the school to comply with Circular 29 and related regulations.

“Currently, Le Quy Don Secondary School is the first and only public school in Hai Duong City to change its teaching plan and let students take Saturdays off. The school has been doing this since February 17. Le Quy Don Secondary School’s approach is practical and quite good. Other schools should refer to it and if they have the conditions, they can do it,” said Ms. Hoa.

THE ANH