Education sector hit hard by COVID-19, says Minister
VOV.VN - The local education and training sector has taken the full brunt of the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 outbreak over the past two years, thereby impeding its reform efforts, Education Minister Nguyen Kim Son said on November 11 at a National Assembly hearing.
Minister Son stated that approximately 20 million students have been unable to go to school for a long time, and more than 70,000 students could not graduate on time, affecting the supply of human resources for the national economy.
He admitted that deploying online learning in asynchronous infrastructure revealed a number of shortcomings, causing many negative consequences for both schools and families.
The fact is that the majority of students and teachers are stressed and tired, whilst parents are angry and worried in general, he said.
The Minister went on to add that the Ministry has requested that schools encourage teachers and students to overcome immediate difficulties and return to class as soon as conditions permit.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak remaining complicated, he said the Ministry has requested that localities offer flexible learning modes by switching between virtual and face-to-face learning, including studying on television, as well as reducing reliance of school curriculums and shifting the focus to several core subjects.
The past two months has seen the Ministry collaborate with Vietnam Television to offer lessons in both the first and second grades, with each TV show attracting millions of viewers.
Learning through television is one of the solutions given the current context, though none of the resolutions are completely satisfactory, said Minister Son.
The Minister also noted that the Ministry has banned pre-schools from receiving kids in areas where the outbreak has yet to be completely brought under control. However, it is feared that staying at home for a long time will also impact kids’ growth, both physically and mentally.