VietNamNet Bridge - Teachers appear seem to be very ‘generous’ when giving compliments to students. Nearly all students can receive ‘certificates of satisfactory progress’ when the academic year finishes.

Nguyen Thuy Hang, a parent in Bac Tu Liem district in Hanoi, said her daughter, a seventh grader, got the title ‘excellent student’ for the 2015-2016 academic year and received the certificate of merit for this.

However, Hang admitted that the information does not make her really excited, because two-thirds of students could get the title.

“It is easy to become excellent students nowadays,” she explained.  “Teachers tend to give high marks to students, because the teachers would be rewarded if their students can gain high achievements."

A teacher of the Van Dien Primary School in Hanoi admitted that it is easy for students nowadays to get certificates of merit from schools.

She said the Ministry of Education and Training’s Circular 30 encourages teachers to give compliments to students. 

The circular says that at the end of the first semester and the end of academic year, teachers and students select the students who gain outstanding achievements and make considerable progress in virtue, ability and learning achievements, and then ask the schools’ headmasters to give certificates of merit to them.

The Ministry of Education and Training’s Circular 30 encourages teachers to give compliments to students.

The problem is, according to the teacher, nearly all students can gain ‘outstanding achievements’ in one of the three above said fields – virtue, ability and learning achievements.

“Students who need to follow the school’s regulation and usually speak their mind in classes can also receive certificates of merits,” the student commented.

“In terms of learning achievements, students just need to fulfill semester-end tests to be able to get compliments,” she said. “Therefore, students all would be commended, either for this or another reason."

This explains why in a class with 35 students, 33 can get certificates of merit. “Why not give certificate of merits, if this can make students, teachers and parents all happy?” she said.

In fact, many parents have expressed their worries about the new teaching method.

“In the past, teachers gave marks to school works to assess students’ abilities. But nowadays, primary school students only receive comments instead of marks,” a parent wrote on an education forum. “As my child always receives compliments, she does not think she needs to try to learn better."

Nguyen Minh Thuyet, deputy chair of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, the Youth and Children, also said many teachers have expressed their worry that students are getting lazier as their learning capability is not shown in marks.

“I would like to send a warning to Minister (of Education and Training) Phung Xuan Nha: that education may have to pay a heavy price for Circular 30,” Thuyet said.


Infonet