VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese teachers say that under the new marking method at primary schools, they feel reluctant to give negative remarks or home exercises.

This is contrary to the education principles they have been pursuing over decades, they say.

A primary school teacher in Hanoi complained that her job now consumes too much of her time.

“I cannot have a break because I have to spend my free time thinking about what comments to give to students,” she explained. “The education reform initiated by the Ministry of Education and Training has upset everything.”

“We have been asked not to give negative remarks about students. Therefore, I have to rack my brain to find gentle words to say to my students,” she said.

“Instead of saying “badly done”, you should say “you have shown great effort recently, but not in this test, you still made some mistakes” or something like that,” she added. “We have been told that we need to encourage, not force students to study.”

Ngo Thi Hanh, headmaster of the Minh Son 1 Primary School in Thanh Hoa province, said teachers have been told not to give derogatory remarks or similar remarks to many students.

However, it is nearly impossible for teachers to do this, especially when every teacher has to consider the work of many students.

Hanh said that many of Minh Son 1’s teachers cannot fulfill their work at school and have to do the work at home.

“We do not have time to relax or exchange views with colleagues during breaks,” she said.

A parent in Cau Giay District in Hanoi said he does not think the new education method is reasonable.

“No marking, no derogatory remarks, and no home exercises? It will do more harm than good to students,” he said. “I wonder what the education will be based on, if the three most important factors are removed.”

“I cannot understand why the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) still insists on implementing the new education method if the method is not advocated by all teachers, parents and students,” he said.

However, not only primary but high school teachers are upset with the modern education method.

Hoang Tuan Hoa, 30, a visiting teacher to a Vietnamese-owned international high school in Hanoi, noted that he feels pressure because he does not have the right to offer a word of criticism.

“I was told that my salaries are sourced from student tuition. And if I give them bad marks, I will be replaced by another teacher who masters the art of giving high marks,” he said.

Thanh Mai