Vietnam - New school hours puts stress on students

Since the new school hours have been applied, my 16-year old daughter has to leave the house at six in the morning and come back home at ten in the evening.

It is freezing and there are often long rain showers in Hanoi. The kids have to be on the street early for school, go home to eat lunch for an hour before going back to school and staying there until late.

With the old school hours, students could go back home at 6pm to have dinner before going to cram school which finishes at 9pm. In accordance to the new schedules, the afternoon class will be 1.5 hours longer, which means they will go to cram class much later. Due to the long interval between lunch and dinner (from 12pm until 7.30pm), I wonder if they would have enough energy to concentrate on studying.

Many people may say: “Who forces students to go to cram school?” But think again, who is not going to cram school in Hanoi? Taking extra classes is sometimes compulsory, required by teachers at school to ensure your performance remains good.

Meanwhile, the new system has made white-collar workers go to work late and get home early. The adults feel more comfortable since they work less and do not have to worry about congestion. However, the stress has been put on their children, who are already under a lot of pressure from their studies.

We would like to demand that the minister of traffic and Hanoi authorities to make some changes to the new system. For example, high school students who start classes early in the morning can go home early in the afternoon. Meanwhile, white-collar workers go to work late and should come home late.

This would allow more time for the students, who are still growing up, to eat and rest well. The school would save money for electricity; parents would not need to linger, waiting to pick up their kids after class.

I hope the law-makers will reconsider and implement changes so that the family life of many households in Hanoi can return to a normal pace.

HO NHAT

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