Ho Chi Minh City schools barred from forcing students to join extracurricular activities

“Extracurricular educational activities must have the consent of parents and be attended by students on a voluntary basis,” according to the municipal Department of Education and Training.

The department on Friday issued a dispatch to heads of educational institutions across the city, calling for stronger measures to ensure the safety of students and teachers during extracurricular activities.

Under the directive, schools must ensure that extracurricular activities are practical, linked to specific educational objectives and content, and consistent with general and preschool education curricula.

Schools are responsible for providing parents with full and public information about the purpose, content, schedule, location, itinerary, coordinating organizations, means of transportation and expected costs.

“Students must never be forced to participate,” the department stated.

Schools are also asked to limit activities involving the entire school, multiple grades, or excessively large numbers of students at the same time.

The content, format, location and duration of each activity must be appropriate for students’ ages, psychological development and health conditions.

The department also stressed that schools must not use participation in extracurricular activities as a criterion for assessing or ranking students.

When an extracurricular activity takes place during regular school hours, schools must arrange appropriate learning and other activities for students who do not participate.

Schools are further required to provide financial assistance, including fee waivers or reductions, for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Safety must be a top priority throughout the organization of extracurricular activities, with schools required to ensure the safety of teachers, staff, students and learners.

They must also take weather, climate and disease-related risks into account during the planning and implementation of activities.

“The head of each institution bears full responsibility for organizing extracurricular educational activities and must work directly with coordinating organizations on content and costs, following the principles of cost recovery, public disclosure and transparency, without pursuing profit,” the department emphasized.