Ministry agrees to pilot foreign language teaching in kindergartens The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has approved a pilot programme for teaching of foreign language at nursery schools following demand from many parents.   Foreign language teaching will be allowed at kindergartens with certain criteria Under the MoET’s instruction, foreign language teaching will be allowed at kindergartens with certain criteria. Teachers must at have graduated from a foreign language college and have taken training courses in pre-education.  The teaching content and certifications must also be appraised by education agencies. Recently, the MoET issued a document banning foreign language teaching at nursery schools. Any advertising of foreign language classes was also forbidden. According to the Deputy Minister, Nguyen Thi Nghia, currently several kindergartens hold foreign language classes, charging extra fees. Meanwhile, the quality of teachers is not ensured and schools lack the necessary infrastructure to provide such courses, prompting the MoET to issue the ban. Nonetheless, many parents protested the decision of the ministry, saying that nursery school is the perfect time to start learning foreign languages and that children of that age should not be denied the opportunity. According to the MoET’s regulations, teaching foreign languages should be based on games, songs and pictures to create interest for students. Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Thi Nghia, said departments of education and training must be responsible for controlling the programme for teaching foreign languages at local nursery schools. By Nguyen Hung | dtinews.vn