Vietnam - Combined classes benefit the poor

GIA LAI — The Le Van Tam Primary School in Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands currently has ten combined grade classrooms with only one teacher each.

These classrooms were initially set up to facilitate ethnic children attending school, especially those who live 25-40km away, according to the head of the district’s Education and Training Department, Vuong Thi Hoi.

She said that in many cases, there were not enough students to set up normal split classes, making combined grade classrooms an effective alternative.

While the classes have helped overcome many challenges, locals still remain largely unaware of the importance of education.

At a combined classroom in H’Ro village, there are usually 26 students between grade 1 and 2, although half are often absent.

Because of low awareness, students skip school for months to help their families harvest crops or enjoy festivities.

These pupils are mostly from poor families who rarely have enough food to eat or the chance to consider schooling their children, said Nguyen Thi Dieu, a teacher in Dak Trau Village.

Dieu explained that she usually taught a class of 4th and 5th graders in the morning and a class of 2nd and 3rd graders in the afternoon.

For reasons of feasibility, she splits the black board into two parts, each including a lesson for a specific group. While one group does exercises, the other uses the board and listens to the teacher.

“This teaching method costs time and makes concentration troublesome,” Dieu noted, saying that teaching different levels of irregularly attending students was no walk in the park.

Hoi said that students would likely have less of access to proper education in studying subjects such as Art, Music and Physical Education in the same fashion.

She confirmed that the district currently sported 81 combined primary classrooms and over 100 pre-school classrooms, more than any other district in the province.

From secondary school onwards, students are able to attend boarding school, reducing the number of combined grade classrooms.

Under Governmental policy, those who teach two grades get 50 per cent added to their salaries while those teaching three grades get an additional 75 per cent per month.

VNA

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