Though the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has put an end to the debate about the primary education reform by refusing to amend Circular No 30, parents are still protesting against it. The forum has 22,000 members who are teachers, parents, researchers and education reporters. Thirteen questions were asked to check how the members understood the nature of the circular and the legal document’s impact on their lives. The survey attracted 156 people, but 10 votes were deemed invalid. Of the remaining 146 people, 115 were primary school teachers (78.8%), while the other 17 were parents who have children going to primary school. The survey showed that most (82.2%) think the circular stipulates a new method of assessing students’ ability, while they do not see it as a reform in primary education as expected by MOET. MOET hopes the changes in assessing students’ ability would lead to changes in teaching method and education program. MOET’s plan was not applauded by the public, with 90.4% of polled people showing their dissatisfaction with the circular, saying that it is unsuitable to current education conditions. Pham Phuc Thinh, the author of the questionnaire, said there were many existing problems which may hinder the implementation of the new mechanism. First, MOET wants to enforce the circular soon, while teachers and students have not been prepared well enough. Teachers do not understand what they need to do, and they have to proceed while listening to the news and looking forward to MOET’s instructions. Second, while the circular kicks off reform in primary education, the conditions remain unchanged. While teachers have begun applying the new teaching method, they still have to use old textbooks described as “too academic” and “useless”. The new circular stipulates that students’ works must be assessed by comments, not marks. However, 45.5% of polled people said parents never read teachers’ comments, because comments can only give “general information” and “vague remarks”. Giao Duc Viet Nam newspaper has made public a letter from a parent who asked MOET to reconsider the new circular because she fears the circular would “spoil” Vietnamese students. “Vietnamese people are possessed of traditional fondness for learning. But I am afraid the tradition would be buried by Circular No 30,” the letter said. (VietNamNet Mar 12)
