According to Tuoi Tre, last Monday the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training put forth a decree detailing various changes that will take effect for the 2017-2018 school year, including a complete ban on homework for primary school students.
According to the plan, the primary school curriculum will feature two sessions a day. In the morning, students will have lessons on core subjects such as mathematics and Vietnamese. In the afternoon, they will spend time finishing up leftover tasks from the first session. Independent learning will also be encouraged during this session, along with life skill exercises.
The document also explicitly states that teachers are forbidden from giving students homework.
The plan arrived right in the middle of a controversy over a previous policy outlawing schools and teachers from conducting extra classes and receiving pay for tutoring outside of school hours, in the hope of relieving academic pressure on young students.
[Photo via Daniel Hoherd]
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