A rise in violence at Vietnam's schools has been blamed on a lack of moral education in schools, and the lack of counsellors to help troubled students, educators say.

The issue of growing violence was raised at a conference on December 24 in HCM City.

In November, two ninth-grade students in Dak Lak Province fought with each other at school. One of them went back to his classroom, got a knife, and stabbed the other. When the injured boy tried to run, he was chased and stabbed again. He died on the way to hospital. In the same month, a fifth-grade student beat a sixth grader to death with a tree branch.

Le Thi Thao, an official from Dak Lak Department of Education and Training said, "We have tried every possible measures, but playground violence still occurs and it is reaching an alarming level."

 Le Thi Thao from the Dak Lak Department of Education and Training

She said the Ministry of Education and Training is focusing on curriculum and examination methods, but it is ignoring morality.

"A programme on student lifestyles was supposed to be held in November but it was postponed indefinitely," she said.

Pham Van Khuong, a school inspector for the Ninh Thuan Province Department of Education and Training, agreed and said a review of moral education was necessary.

 Pham Van Khuong, a school inspector
of the Ninh Thuan Province Department of Education and Training

"Some students become even more violent as they grow older," he said, "We must put morality education above anything else so students can learn how to cope with character development as well as their educational learning."

Many experts suggested schools needed a counselling room, so troubled students could be helped by a trained expert. But Vietnam does not have any regulations or budget for the placement of psychologists as state officials.

An official from HCM City Department of Education and Training, Nguyen Minh, urged the government to adjust policies to allow schools to recruit student counsellors.