VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has never admitted the failure of the specialization-based program in general schools.

Several years ago, a specialization-based education program was launched, under which students could have opportunities to follow advanced curricula in certain majors.

Those students, who wanted to get deeper knowledge in math or natural sciences, could register to study in Group A.

The curriculum for Group A was designed in a way so as to provide basic knowledge in all subjects and advanced knowledge in math, physics and chemistry to students.

Meanwhile, those who registered to study in Group C, for example, would receive basic knowledge in all subjects and advanced knowledge in literature, history and geography, i.e., social sciences.

Do Thi Bich Duyen, headmaster of Le Quy Don High School in HCM City, said in the first two academic years after the program was launched, many students registered to follow Group A and Group C curriculums.

However, after that, specialized groups could not attract them anymore, and most of them now choose to follow basic curricula, i.e., they wish to receive basic knowledge in all subjects.

At Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School in HCM City, Pham Thi Le Nhan, headmaster of the school, confirmed that no one wants to followed specialized curricula.

Huynh Trong Phuc, headmaster of Nguyen Cong Tru High School, said he anticipated the failure of the program eight years ago, when MOET gathered school leaders and requested to apply the specialization-based education program.

“We believed that the program was unreasonable and we did not organize the teaching and learning based on it,” he said.

Nguyen Van Hieu, deputy director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, noted that Group A and Group C have not been been in schools in the city for the last four years.

In Hanoi, the specialization-based program is facing the same problem. The headmaster of a high school in Hoang Mai district said at first the number of students registering to follow Group A curriculum was high enough to form a class. However, the students of the class, one after another, left it for a basic class.

“The MOET program failed completely right from the very beginning,” he noted.

“The heavy curricula proved to be a burden on students, whose major goal is passing university entrance exams,” he said.

Cao Huy Thao, president of the Saigon International College (SIC), noted that in general, conferences and meetings are organized to review the implementation of programs. However, it appears that MOET wants “to see off the program quietly”.

Thanh Lich