VietNamNet Bridge – The new school model for Vietnam (VNEN), being applied on a trial basis at some schools in big cities, is believed to “force children to mature soon,” though is introduced as a “friendly” teaching model designed on the achievements of the international education renovation.

HCM City began applying VNEN in the 2012-2013 academic year in a pilot program. The Tan Thong Primary School in Cu Chi district was the first school that followed the new teaching model.

The school’s teachers did not have to prepare lesson plans. The students in every class were divided into groups. Each of the group was given the icons of smiling and crying faces which they used to inform the teachers they finished doing exercises or they could not do the exercises and needed the teachers’ help.

In the classes, students sat together, face to face, thus allowing them to discuss more easily. There are some 5-6 groups in every class, each of which comprises of 6 members.

The noteworthy thing of the teaching model is the existence of a self-management council. The “chair” of the council has the duty of supervising and asking other students to fulfill their works. He can also act as the monitor when teachers are away.

During the lessons, the teachers talk about the activities of the day and write about these on the blackboard.

The students discuss in groups about how to implement the tasks assigned by the teachers, then inform to the teachers with the smiling face icon that they fulfill the tasks. Meanwhile, those, who cannot do the works, can show the crying face icon to ask for teachers’ help.

A lot of teachers keep optimistic about the new teaching model. A report by the Ministry of Education and Training released in May 2013, showed that VNEN had been applied at 24 schools in six provinces.

The HCM City Education and Training Department has announced that the VNEN model would be applied in a larger scale in the city from the 2014-2015 academic year. The model would be utilized at one primary school in every district at least in the city.

Nevertheless, a lot of teachers still think that VNEN is not suitable to Vietnamese students.

Bui Thi Thao, a teacher in Thu Duc district, said if applying VNEN, there should be 25-35 students only in every class. Meanwhile, most of the classes in the city are overloaded with 50 students in every class. This means that there would be some 10 groups of students under VNEN, which makes it very difficult for the teacher to take care for all of students.

An officer of a district education sub-department said frankly that it’s unfeasible to apply the model in Vietnam, even if the HCM City authorities decide to apply it in a large scale.

He also said that with the new model, the teachers would become no more creative, because the lesson plans are nearly the same in all classes. Deputy Director of the HCM City Education and Training Nguyen Hoai Chuong also said that the lack of creativeness in teaching is not good for the education.

Meanwhile, the posts of “chair of the self-management council” and deputy chairs would “make the children get matured sooner than their real ages.”

Le Huyen