VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese are divided on the existence of schools for the gifted and classes of selected students. Some believe schools for the gifted are not good for students, while others think the schools should be part of the educational system.

Giao Duc Viet Nam, which conducted a mini-poll on whether to maintain the system of secondary schools for the gifted, has reported that the majority think such schools are unnecessary.

At least 66 percent of Giao Duc Viet Nam’s readers agreed there was no need to maintain secondary schools for the gifted, while only 34.03 percent think the schools should exist.

The Communist Party’s Resolution No 029 also stipulates there should be no schools for the gifted at the secondary education level in Vietnam. However, such schools still exist. 

Do Tan Ngoc, a teacher from Quang Ngai province, in his email to Giao Duc Viet Nam Editorial Board, wrote that it is now the right time to take action to fight against the “achievement disease” which he believes is partially caused by the existence of the system of schools for the gifted and classes for selected students.

Ngoc, applauding the Ministry of Education and Training’s decision on prohibiting secondary schools to organize entrance exams to select best students, said the decision would free Vietnamese students from too much homework and study.

“If there is no school for the gifted, the stiff competition for the schools will be eliminated. This means that the heavy burden on students will be lifted,” he said.

“If schools for the gifted no longer exist, students will not have to rush to private tutoring classes, while their parents will not have to spend money for their children’s seats at school,” he wrote.

And more importantly, Ngoc said, the removal of schools for the gifted would enable the establishment of a fair educational system in which students do not spend much of the time preparing for unnecessary exams.

However, Professor Nguyen Lan Dung, a renowned scientist and educator, thinks the schools for the gifted should remain.

“In a market economy, there are the shops for common people and there are other shops for high-income earners for consumers to choose the right shops for them. But all people need to have essential goods for their lives,” Dung said.

Le Quynh Hoa, a parent in Hanoi, said it would be a blunder to remove the system of schools for the gifted, because this would deprive the students’ right to choose the best and most suitable schools for themselves.

Tien Phong