VietNamNet Bridge – The country must reform pedagogical schools so future teachers can keep up with changes in education requirements, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien said.

Illustrative image -- File photo

At a conference on Wednesday, Hien said most teaching students were not up to date on educational issues and had no opportunity to provide input.

They did not know what was going on at schools or whether teaching methods and content were changing. So they could hardly become devoted, skilful teachers, Hien said. Pedagogical schools' curriculum was causing the difficulties, she added.

Leaders of some pedagogical schools admitted that they had not yet changed their curriculum. Once reformed, they would focus on developing students' abilities instead of just training them. They also said that many lecturers did not know how to guide students on scientific research and creative activities. So graduates had no experience in those subjects, though they were main targets in the reform.

In a survey 80 per cent of about 300 pedagogical students said creative activity organising wouldn't be important – or was less important than other areas – for their future classrooms, said Hoang Thi Oanh of Ha Noi Pedagogical University No 2.

According to Nguyen Kim Hong of HCM City Pedagogical University, the fund for scientific research projects was quite low – about VND6 to 7 million (US$279-$325) per school per year. As a result, each school only carried out 10 research projects per year at the most.

To solve the problem, Hien said pedagogical schools should make their training more practical.

Apart from professional skills, pedagogical schools should focus on teaching students to solve problems, as well as about psychology and social affairs, he said.

VNS