How did the first province in the country apply 5-day/week schooling after 5 years?

The number of students dropping out of school has decreased.

After 5 years of piloting the policy of allowing students to take Saturdays off, the Lao Cai Department of Education and Training (GD-DT) said that the implementation of the above policy has brought many good results. Specifically, organizing teaching 5 days/week, students have 2 days off on weekends, teachers have conditions to improve their professional qualifications; students can participate in experiential activities, extracurricular activities and practice life skills, develop comprehensively...

According to the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province, basically, when organizing teaching 5 days/week, it received consensus and support from teachers, students, parents and society. In the process of surveying feedback from all parties, the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province said that parents and students were excited because they had more time for their children to be close to their parents, suitable for both state officials and workers.

Notably, when the above policy was applied, it helped increase the rate of students attending school regularly and reduce the number of students dropping out of school. For example, in the 2019-2020 school year, the dropout rate of secondary school students was 1.2%, and by the 2023-2024 school year, it was only 0.8%. The number of secondary school graduates gradually increased from 12,500 students (in 2021) to 14,429 students (in 2024).

Regarding difficulties during the pilot period, the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province said that due to the main course schedule of 5 morning sessions and 2 afternoon sessions/week, the arrangement of time for teaching and tutoring excellent students, tutoring weak students, and reviewing for 9th graders entering 10th grade must be done in combination; the school must arrange the schedule in the most appropriate and skillful way.

Lao Cai is the first province to pilot 5-day/week schooling.

The Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province said that the pilot was implemented in 2019. At this time, other than Lao Cai, no other province has implemented it (only a few private schools in Hanoi and Hai Phong have implemented it).

The pilot was implemented by the provincial Department of Education and Training based on the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training and the proposals of the Departments of Education and Training and educational institutions throughout the province. On that basis, the Lao Cai Department of Education and Training issued Document No. 1631 dated September 26, 2019 on guiding the implementation of the secondary education plan. According to the above plan, the Department assigned the Department of Education and Training to implement teaching 5 days/week based on the actual situation, but must ensure the given principles.

The principles include: Ensuring the school year schedule of the Provincial People's Committee; Ensuring the duration of subjects and educational activities as prescribed in the general education program at the secondary level; absolutely not cutting the program; Ensuring the rate of students attending school regularly; ensuring security and safety for students; Not forcing and causing "overload" for students.

Regarding specific solutions to arrange the study schedule to ensure the content and quality of education, the Lao Cai Department of Education and Training said that the Department has directed that the principal base on the resources and actual conditions of the unit to develop an educational plan to decide on the 5-day study period.

The implementation must ensure the program duration, organize teaching to a maximum of 8 periods/day to ensure quality. Schools arrange and adjust teaching schedules, review, teach in the afternoons/week, some collective activities, teacher meetings are arranged on Saturday mornings in some suitable weeks.

Notably, according to the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province, teaching 5 days/week does not change the content and methods of education, including the organization of extracurricular activities... The Department of Education and Training encourages units to organize educational activities outside the classroom to experience career guidance and practice life skills for students on Saturdays, but must ensure sufficient conditions for organization, have the consent of parents and especially must ensure absolute safety for students.

Reduce the burden on teachers

According to the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province, the application of teaching 5 days/week does not increase the burden on teachers. On the contrary, most teachers are very excited, especially teachers in remote mountainous areas far from home, they have more time to take care of their children and family; have more time to restore their labor force in the difficult working conditions in mountainous areas.

In the immediate future, Lao Cai province will continue to implement teaching 5 days/week for primary and secondary schools; it has not been implemented at high schools because the conditions for high schools have not been met. At the same time, Lao Cai province is focusing on investing in facilities for secondary schools to ensure the implementation of 5 sessions/week.

In response to concerns that students will have to take extra classes if they study 5 days a week, the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province affirmed that applying 5 days a week will reduce the amount of extra classes.

Specifically, there are three main reasons for the reduction in extra-curricular time for students, including: First, previously, schools taught extra-curricular classes in three sessions, now they have reduced them to two sessions; second, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a directive not to teach extra-curricular classes on holidays, Sundays, and summer vacations for students and some specified time frames to ensure students' health; third, the organization of extra-curricular classes must still be carried out except during the above times to meet students' needs and improve the quality of education.