The Ministry of Education and Training’s regulation banning English in preschool curriculum has received much backlash from local parents.
School principals have expressed much embarrassment for the new regulation and empathy for the children who wish to learn a foreign language. The ministry will issue penalties for any school that continues to teach English.
Now we must send our children to additional evening school to learn a foreign language, said Vo Minh Khang, father of a three-year-old child in District 1.
He would like to see English taught at the public school to save transportation time. If the child studies at multiple schools, there will be conflicting textbooks which will disrupt studies.
Many developed countries teach foreign languages in public preschools to maximize language acquisition. Parents have long advocated for the development of English as a preschool requirement in Vietnam.
Most school are not equipped enough with skilled teachers to teach English, according to the ministry.
The reasoning behind the regulation is the belief that sub-standard teachers will actually hinder the students’ pronunciation which is nearly impossible to correct later.
