In the 2021-2022 academic year, numerous primary schools in Hai Chau District, Da Nang have introduced life skills programmes funded by private units. This  activity aims at equipping schoolchildren with necessary knowledge and skills to help them handle real-life situations

Pupils of Phu Dong Primary School, Hai Chau District in a life skills lesson. (Photo taken before the latest COVID-19 resurgence)

Hai Chau District –based Phu Dong Primary School is a pioneer in teaching life skills in the 2019-2020 school year. After a pilot year, the school officially started this programme for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd graders with participation rates up to 97%. Besides, the school has also facilitated needy pupils to receive free life skills learning.

This school year, the school plans to deploy life skills lessons for the whole school from 1^st to 5^th graders with a frequency of a class per week, in tandem with using the POKI life skills programme which is evaluated wonderful in both content and form, developed by Minh Khoi Education Development Joint Stock Company in Da Nang.

In the same vein, Ong Ich Khiem Primary School, Thanh Binh Ward, Hai Chau District, started life skills teaching to pupils in this school year. Having realized the usefulness of life skills aside from based knowledge, the administrators decided to gather parents’ opinions and finally receive most of their agreement in a bid to deploy this program for pupils.

According to Ms Nguyen Thi Thuy Ha, Head of the Hai Chau ward-based Department of Education and Training, the 2021-2022 school year has seen more than 10 local primary schools teaching life skills utilizing private investment sources. The unit has directed these schools to deploy in the spirit of pupils’ parents’ volunteering. Moreover, schools should arrange a life-skill class at the lastest class of the school day to facilitate parents to pick up children who do not attend.

As shared by Mr Pham Van An, Director of Minh Khoi Education Development Joint Stock Company in Da Nang, the POKI life skills program has developed relied on the 21^st-century citizen competency framework in line with the capacity development orientation according to the general education program of the Ministry of Education and Training, including 4 main groups of competencies namely common sense of life; communicate and interact; learning and creative thinking; science and technology application, with age-appropriate topics and lectures depending on the grade level.

For example, the topic "Prevention of accidents and injuries" aims to assist 1^st graders in tackling situations of escaping from big fires; topic "Befriending with safety"  to help 5^th graders to have skills to deal with choking, gas leaks, or when being on escalators, or have knowledge of first aid when going on a picnic.

Moreover, all teaching contents including lessons, games, stories, activities and even a lovely character recognition set are integrated into the software taught by qualified teachers, helping children to have familiar feelings and easily absorb life skills. In addition, they can practice these lessons on the website with their parents at home to review when having spare time.

However, life skills education program has not been deployed strongly and evenly in schools citywide due to many reasons, especially related to economic conditions. Mr Nguyen Thai Phong, Principal of Vo Thi Sau Primary School, Thuan Phuoc Ward, Hai Chau District, said that primary schools are currently implementing the POKI life skills program with the price of VND 50,000 per month with a lesson every week.

In the future, It is hoped that many pupils citywide will have access to life skills education programmes, not only in Hai Chau district as currently, due to its practical advantages in addressing everyday situations around children.

Reporting by NGOC HA- Translating by T.VY