Bad behaviors of teachers, problematic students’ morality, and the “achievement disease” remain the big existing problems in the education sector.

Teacher Trieu Ngoc Diem

The bad behaviors of teachers

On May 13, Trieu Ngoc Diem, a primary school teacher in Soc Trang province, stuck adhesive tape on the mouth of a student. The teacher thought that the punishment would help the student become more concentrating in the class.

However, the behavior then raised strong protests from people, who believed that this was an anti-education behavior, which should not have been made by a teacher.

On November 4, in Thua Thien-Hue province, 20 students of the Hoa Chau High School were heavily punished for the lack of seriousness in the flag saluting hour. Vo Thi Thien Tam, the teacher of the students, told the students to lie on the table and then beat four of the students themselves with broomsticks, and asked the class’ monitor to beat the other 16.

A principal in Bac Lieu province on June 26 lost his life-work and honor just within one minute just because of alcohol. Responding to the challenge thrown down by an officer of the school, the principal cut the officer’s throat and caused the officer’s death.

A female student of the Tay Nguyen University denounced a teacher of the school for behaving incorrectly towards her. She said that the teacher many times called her and asked to have sexual relations with him. Since the student refused, the teacher threatened to “punish” her. As a result, the teacher has been instructed to stop teaching at the school.

Problems in students’ morality

The police have warned that the school violence has become alarming serious in both the number of cases and the seriousness. Students nowadays not only come to blows, but also stab with knives.

In September alone, 3 clips showing students fighting each other were posted on Internet. In October, there were 4 clips, and in November and December, 3 clips showing female students beating others.

Especially, in two cases, female students stabbed friends with knives. Two students were hospitalized in Quang Binh province after the dogfight, while a student in Tien Giang died after receiving a stab from another student. Analysts have rung the alarm bell over the seriousness of the school violence, because murder weapon – knives – has been carried to school.

They have also rung the alarm bell over the indifference of people. The video clips showed a lot of people standing around when student fought each other, but none of them intended to make intervention to stop the fight.

2011 was also the year when sex clips “mushroomed”. The wave of posting sex clips on Internet began when a clip was spread out on Internet, which was believed the clip of a 17 year old student of the Hoang Van Thu School in Hanoi.

After that, a lot of other clips appeared on Internet, including the ones of students of the Hanoi University, the Hanoi Mining and Geology University and other schools.

The “achievement disease” still existing

The Ministry of Education and Training announced the high percentage of students passing the final exams in 2011 (95.72 percent). However, no one thinks that the result truly reflect the actual education and training quality.

People have also questioned the Ministry of Education and Training about the zero mark given to thousands students at the exams. The zero mark shows that students do not understand history and they do not have interest in the subject.

The word “achievement disease” has become a term in Vietnam which means that general schools only report their achievements, while ignoring the problems.

The “achievement disease” explains why a 7th grader in Binh Dinh province can only write his name, while a third grader still cannot read.

Source: VNN