Recently, the new program applied to first-grade students has caused much controversy surrounding the opinion that this program is considered too burdensome. The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has proposed a solution to not assign homework to first-grade students.
Article table of contents
Vietnam: Should first-grade students have homework? (Illustration)
1. Comparison of the old and new curriculum for first-grade students
Previously:
The curriculum for first-grade students was applied according to Decision 16/2006/QD-BGDDT as follows:
| Subjects and Educational Activities | Periods/Week |
| Vietnamese | 10 |
| Math | 4 |
| Morality | 1 |
| Natural and Social Sciences | 1 |
| Music | 1 |
| Arts | 1 |
| Handicraft | 1 |
| Physical Education | 1 |
| Collective Education | 2 |
| Extracurricular Activities | 4 periods/month |
| Total periods/week | 22+ |
Currently:
The current curriculum for first-grade students is applied according to Circular 32/2018/TT-BGDDT as follows:
| Educational Content | Periods/Year |
| Compulsory Subjects | |
| Vietnamese | 420 |
| Math | 105 |
| Morality | 35 |
| Natural and Social Sciences | 70 |
| Physical Education | 70 |
| Arts (Music, Fine Arts) | 70 |
| Compulsory Educational Activities | |
| Experiential Activities | 105 |
| Optional Subjects | |
| Ethnic Minority Language | 70 |
| Foreign Language 1 | 70 |
| Total periods/year (excluding optional subjects) | 875 |
| Average periods/week (excluding optional subjects) | 25 |
Currently, the educational content for first-grade students includes 9 subjects, including:
- Compulsory subjects and educational activities: Vietnamese; Math; Morality; Natural and Social Sciences; Physical Education; Arts (Music, Fine Arts); Experiential Activities.
- Optional subjects: Ethnic Minority Language; Foreign Language 1.
Educational duration for the curriculum for first-grade students:
Teaching is conducted in two sessions per day, each day with no more than 7 periods; each period is 35 minutes.
Comparing Vietnamese subject, the previous first grade program had 10 periods/week with a minimum annual duration of 35 weeks, equivalent to 350 periods/year. However, currently, the Vietnamese subject alone has 420 periods/year, which is an increase of 70 periods/year compared to the previous curriculum.
2. No additional homework for first-grade students
The curriculum applied for first-grade students is stirring up controversy among parents who feel that this program is too "heavy". According to Official Dispatch 3977/BGDDT-GDTH, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has proposed 3 solutions to address this issue. One of the 3 solutions proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam is not assigning additional homework for first-grade students. Specifically, Official Dispatch 3977/BGDDT-GDTH emphasized:
To continue supporting schools and teachers in effectively implementing the new general education program and textbooks, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam requests the Departments of Education and Training to undertake the following:
1. Direct schools to develop educational plans to implement the first-grade program in a way that reasonably allocates content and teaching time among subjects and educational activities to avoid overloading, meeting the requirements for implementing the new program which is designed to be open; help students complete learning tasks right in the classroom, do not assign additional homework to students. The timetable should ensure a reasonable ratio among subjects and educational activities, allocate time reasonably within the day and week suitable to the psychological characteristics of primary school students, especially first graders.
Thus, to reduce the "burden" in the curriculum for first-grade students, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has mandated solutions such as reasonable reallocation of content and teaching time; ensuring that students complete their learning tasks right in the classroom; and particularly, not assigning additional homework to students.
Thuy Tram
