VietNamNet Bridge – Thirty percent of the math knowledge students receive at general schools proves to be useless for the students who do not continue following math studies at universities.

Professor Van Nhu Cuong

The information has been provided by Professor Van Nhu Cuong, Headmaster of Luong The Vinh people founded High School, a well-known educator in Vietnam, to the National Assembly’s supervision delegation.

Cuong said he cannot understand why students need to learn about complex number, if the knowledge is not useful for them in the future. However, Luong The Vinh, like many other high schools, still has to give the lessons on complex number, because there is always at least one question relating to the issue at the school final exams.

Nguyen Minh Tam in Ba Dinh district in Hanoi always feels worried about the health of the son, who was born prematurely. Tam has been advised to bring the 15-year-old son to martial arts or sports classes to improve his health.

In fact, Tam once brought the child to chess and martial arts every Saturday or Sunday when the boy was at primary school. However, the boy now has no free time to spend on martial arts class now. He has to learn hard all the day to prepare for the high school entrance exams.

Tam understands that only a limited number of secondary school graduates can enroll in state owned schools, therefore, her boy needs to prepare for the exam intensively or he would fail the exams, which means that he would have to study at a people founded school.

The boy is not good at math. Therefore, he always has to stay up late until 11 pm every day to solve math questions. Meanwhile, Tam has to bring the boy to a private tutoring class everyday so that he can practice more with the solving of math questions.

Thu Minh, a parent in Cau Giay district in Hanoi, forced her son go solve extra math questions when the boy was at kindergarten. Minh and her husband believe that math is the most important learning subject, and that it would be better to begin learning math as soon as possible.

When asked if the boy likes drawing or playing sports, Minh said that learning math should be the top priority task for the boy now. “If you cannot learn math well, you would not be able to follow university education. This means that you would not have a bright future,” she said.

In fact, the boy really likes drawing lessons. However, Minh told him that he can learn drawing when he grows up, while he should spend his time on math lessons now.

The conclusion by Professor Van Nhu Cuong, that 30 percent of the math knowledge given at general school is useless to students is not a surprise to math teachers at all, but has shocked parents and students.

A math teacher of a secondary school in Ba Dinh district, when asked if the math knowledge students receive at general school would be useful in the future, said the knowledge is really useful for students, who want pass the final exams, but she is not sure if it is useful for people in their lives.

The teacher said her daughter also has to learn hard everyday and has no free time to play. “I understand her problems, but I cannot do anything to help, because she would fail the exams if she does not prepare for the exams,” she said.

VnMedia