VietNamNet Bridge – Some educators have expressed their worry that day boarding students, who are served in everything, from meals to beds, would not be able to grown up into independent people.

Just order and wait

Educators have every reason to worry that the currently applied day-boarding model would “harm” students. Since the students do not have to do anything with their hands, they may become “industrial similar products” with no sufficient life skills.

When students of a primary school in HCM City were still at their fifth lesson of the day in the classes, the cooks were busy preparing the lunch for them at the kitchen. Rations were put on the tables in mess halls or on the corridors, ready for students to eat.

First graders had lunch right in their classrooms, because the school did not have enough space for all students. After the lunch time, students were asked to go washing hands.

Everything was ready for students, who only had to do one thing – sit at the table to eat. After finishing, the students can leave their seats and seek somewhere to play before they took an afternoon nap.

After tidying up the hall and the classrooms, babysitters urged students to go to bed. Blankets and pillows were taken out of the cupboard before by the babysitters and got ready for students on the beds.

When the students woke up, the babysitters collected the blankets and pillows and put into the cupboard again. After some afternoon lessons, students had some mid-afternoon meals.

The scene can be seen at many other day boarding schools, not only primary, but secondary and high school as well.

Le Ngoc Diep, Head of the Primary Education Division of the HCM City Education and Training Department, has noted that Vietnamese students prove to be the luckiest ones in the world, because they do not have to do anything to serve their meals and sleeping.

Diep has expressed his worry that the service would make students rely on others, which would be a threat to their future lives.

Truong Thi Viet Lien, Deputy Head of the Pre-school education division of the department, also said that the current day boarding model applied at general school would “spoil” students.

Lien said at nursery schools, children can choose food themselves, while they have to tidy up their places. Meanwhile, primary school students can be served in everything.

“Box lunch is brought to every one of them. They do not have to collect food, do not have to wash dishes, and do not have to do anything,” Lien said.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

There are 604 day boarding primary, secondary and high schools in HCM City. Of these, 268 schools ordered rations with catering companies, while 399 schools prepare lunches for students themselves.

Day boarding education model has been favored by both schools and parents, because this allows the schools to better monitor students and allows parents to save their time.

Some schools have admitted that the model may do more harm than good, but they still apply the model because of the lack of experiences in organizing self-service activities for students.

Phan Thuy Trang, Headmaster of the Kim Dong Primary School in Go Vap district, said the current material facilities of the school do not allow to organize self-service activities for students. The school has recently decided to cut off a part of the school yard to use as a mess hall. Until the decision was made, students had to have meals on the school yard or corridors.

Thu Uyen