HCM CITY— The HCM City Department of Education and Training plans to reform teaching and learning systems at schools to prepare for the introduction of a new training programme and textbooks in 2020-21.

It has enabled school managers to take initiatives to develop programmes to reduce learning by rote and increase practical lessons, Lê Hoài Nam, the department’s deputy head, said.

Schools have strengthened outside activities and adopted problem-based learning, a teaching method that uses complex real-world problems to help students learn concepts and principles as opposed to mere presentation of facts and concepts, he said.

This teaches students the skills of presentation, communication, teamwork, and others, and they also are inspired to be creative and develop their own strengths, he said.

The department has increased the number of science contests at schools, he said.

It has encouraged schools to use STEM, an approach integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics in learning and developing, he said.

Teachers are a decisive element in the successful implementation of the new training programme, the department said.

It has worked with universities to train teachers in teaching the new integrated curriculum.  

It said that the most difficulty the new programme might face is an insufficiency of classrooms.

Lê Hồng Sơn, its head, said the city’s population growth has created this pressure on classrooms.

Every year there are nearly 15,000 additional students, and this is the reason why many children attend school for only half a day, he said.

But the new programme would require all students to learn through the day.

The People’s Committee has instructed relevant agencies to add new schools to districts’ plans. Land in new urban areas and industrial parks will be prioritised for building schools.

The city aims to have 300 classrooms per 10,000 school-aged populations to increase the rate of students studying throughout the day.

The ratio is expected to be 288 by the end of this year. — VNS