Some people think that all high-school students should be required to undertake a fixed period of voluntary work. Others think otherwise, claiming that the amount time spent on voluntary work should be left for students to decide. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

In the recent years, there has been an increasing concern over the voluntary activities in tertiary schools. While numerous people opine that it is extremely important that there be certain period of time in the year spent on this activities, others believe that students should be given the right to decide when they desire to take part in. Personally, I incline towards the former and my reasons will be clarified as below. Admittedly, tertiary pupils are ones who still rely heavily on their parents. Therefore, if they feel free to make up their mind on when and how long they participate in voluntary work, they will have an opportunity to organize plans by themselves and learn a wide range of new skills from it, for instance, time management skills. However, I do believe that unless these activities are initiated and organized deliberately by the principals, it will not be as successful as expected. To start with, only when pupils join hands are there the tremendous strength drawn to cope well with issues. Take the matter that in numerous secondary schools in Viet Nam, the number of libraries is not adequate as a noteworthy example. If only 10 or 15 students chip in to support these local schools, the problem is unresolved. Furthermore, when doing voluntary work becomes a widespread movement among students, it will send an important message to all people in the community that they should burden with the responsibility for helping the needy around them. All in all, while accepting that it is beneficial for high-school students to decide on their own the amount of time allocated to voluntary activities, I believe that it is principals who should have plans to keep students engaged.