Education in Vietnam

Regarding ownership, as prescribed in Article 44 of Vietnam's Education Law, there are four types of educational establishments:

• Public education establishments: established and monitored by the State. The State also nominates their administrators and decides staff quota. The State invests in infrastructure and allocates funding for their regular spending tasks.
• Semi-public educational establishments: set up by the State on the basis of mobilizing organizations and individuals in the society to jointly invest in infrastructure.
• People-founded educational establishments: Social or economic organizations apply for permission from the State to set up an institution with non-State budget capital.
• Private educational establishments: Individuals or groups of individuals apply for permission from the State to set up and invest in the institution by themselves.

The semi-public, people-founded and private educational establishments are referred collectively to as non-public educational establishments.[11]

In Vietnam, a school year is divided into two semesters: the first begins in late August and ends in December, while the second begins right after the first, which is about late January and lasts until the end of May.

Public kindergartens usually admit children ranging from 18 months to 5 years of age. Sometimes, four- or five-year-old children are taught the alphabet and basic arithmetic. This level of education is not compulsory and tends to be popular in major cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho and Vung Tau.

Children normally start primary education at the age of six. Education at this level lasts for 5 years and is compulsory for all children. The country's literacy rate is over 90%.[12]

According to the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey 2006 of Vietnam's General Statistics Office, 96% of six to 11-year-old children enrolled in primary school. However, there was still a troubling disparity in the primary education completion rate among different ethnicity groups. While primary completion rate for Kinh students was 86%, the rate for ethnic minority children was only 61%.[13]

In the school year 2009–2010, Vietnam had 15,172 primary schools and 611 combined primary and lower secondary schools. The total enrollment was 7.02 million pupils, of whom 46% were girls.[14]

The renovated primary education curriculum in Vietnam is divided into two phases as follows:

• Phase 1 includes Grades 1, 2 and 3 with 8 subjects: Vietnamese Language, Mathematics, Morality, Nature and Society, Arts, Physical Education, and (since 2020) Experience Activities and Foreign Language.
• Phase 2 includes Grades 4 and 5 with 11 subjects: Vietnamese Language, Mathematics, Morality, Science, History, Geography, Basic Techniques, Music, Arts, Physical Education and (since 2023) Experience Activities and Foreign Language.[12]

Lower secondary school (Vietnamese: trung học cơ sở) or Junior high school includes sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade. Until its abolition in 2006, students had to pass the Intermediate Graduation Examination (IGE) presented by the local Department of Education and Training to graduate. The IGE comprises Math, Literature, and Foreign Language tests. This educational level is homogeneous throughout most of the country, except in very remote provinces, which expect to popularize and standardize middle education within the next few years. Intermediate education is not compulsory in Vietnam.

The Lower Secondary Education's weekly schedule includes the following subjects and activities: Vietnamese Language, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Civics, Foreign Language (most often English or French), Physical Education, Technology, Art, Music, Optional Subjects, Class Activities and School Activities, Vocational-oriented activities (3 periods per month in Grade 8 or in some cases, the summer between 7th and 8th Grade) and Extra-curricular activities (4 periods per month in all grades). Ιn the end of year 8, student will participate in secondary vocational exam to earn extra-mark for the 10th grade examination.

The Technology subject aims to show the link between theory and practice. It includes three parts: home economics (in Grade 6), agriculture-forestry and aquaculture (in Grade 7), Industry (in Grade 8) and optional modules (in Grade 9).[14]

Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted

Lower secondary school education (Vietnamese: trung học cơ sở) consists of grades six to nine, while high school or upper secondary school education (Vietnamese: trung học phổ thông) consists of grades ten to twelve. The IGE is a prerequisite entrance examination for high schooling. The IGE score determines the schools at which students are able to enroll. The higher the score, the more prestigious the school.[15]

Vietnam National University, Hanoi is among the oldest and most prestigious state institutions for higher education in Vietnam.

University entrance is based on the scores achieved in the entrance examination. High school graduates need high scores to be admitted to universities. Securing a place in a public university is considered a major step towards a successful career, especially for those from rural areas or disadvantaged families. The pressure on the candidates therefore remains very high, despite the measures taken to reduce the importance of these exams. In 2004, it was estimated that nearly one million students took the exam but, on average, only 20% passed.

Normally, candidates take three exams for the fixed group of subjects they choose. There are many fixed groups of subjects:

• Group A: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry
• Group A1: Mathematics, Physics, English
• Group B: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry
• Group C: Literature, History, Geography
• Group D: Literature, Foreign Language, Mathematics

Group D consists of six subgroups based on the languages they provide in universities:

• Group D1: entrance exam subject is English; major language in university is English, but students can also choose also Russian, French, Mandarin, German, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Thai.
• Group D2: entrance exam subject is Russian; major language in university is Russian
• Group D3: entrance exam subject is French; major language in university is French, students can choose Italian instead.
• Group D4: entrance exam subject is Chinese; major language in university is Mandarin
• Group D5: entrance exam subject is German; major language in university is German
• Group D6: entrance exam subject is Japanese; major language in university is Japanese

Besides these, there are groups for artistic and cultural education:

• Group H: Literature, Colored Painting, Pencil Drawing
• Group M: Literature, Mathematics, Singing and Expressive Reading, Instrument Performance (optional)
• Group N: Literature, Tone and Melody, Vocal
• Group R: Literature, History, Journalism
• Group S: Literature, Theatrical Talents
• Group T: Mathematics, Biology, Sports
• Group V: Mathematics, Physics, Drawing

In 2007, Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training started to use multiple choice exam format for several subjects during the university entrance examination. These subjects include Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Foreign Language. Each multiple choice exam lasts 90 minutes. The foreign language exam consists of 80 multiple choice questions; meanwhile, the Physics, Chemistry, Biology exam has 50 questions. Math, Literature, History and Geography exams use composition format.

Starting from the entrance exam of 2013, 10 artistic and cultural universities will remove Literature from the exam of the group H, N and S. Instead, the results of three years in high school and the scores of the HGE will be used to evaluate the candidates.[17]

Starting from 2015, high school graduation and university entrance merged to one exam. Each student will take at least four subjects for the exam including three compulsory — mathematics, literature and foreign language (mostly English) — and one sub-subject such as physics, chemistry, geography, biology, history. After the result has been given, the student can use their score to pass the high school graduation exam and to go to their desired college with three chosen points from the four given.

The higher education system has been criticised by Vietnam's diaspora, such as outdated curricula, a lecturer-centered method of teaching and learning, a lack of linkage between teaching and research activities, and a large discord between theory and practical training that leads to a large number of graduates being unable to find a job, while skills shortages drive inflation to double-digit levels. Vietnamese students perceive themselves to have a lack of knowledge despite being taught a lot due to the fact that the main purpose of studying was to pass exams or to achieve high test scores without real-life implementation. According to the survey on graduate employment in 2009-2010 conducted by Center for Policy Studies and Analysis- University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, among 3000 respondents, 26.2% were unemployed. Among those employed, 61% lacked sufficient working skill, 42% lacked experience, and 32% felt insecure in providing professional expertise.[21]

Teaching methods delivered in the public system are mainly teacher-oriented. Class discussions are uncommon as students are expected to be studious and passively attentive in the classroom. This method may be a manifestation of Confucian culture and is in contrast to British and American pedagogy, where interaction and debate is prominent.[22]

Advanced and specialized high school students are generally expected to study additional courses, which can amount to a total of nine periods a day. Parents also enroll their children into extensive tutoring sessions, which is not to be confused with cram schools, because the tutoring sessions are taken regardless of any upcoming tests or exams. The average monthly salary of local Vietnamese public teachers is between US$60 and US$100, so many supplement their income by moonlighting, working in the private sector or tutoring. Students who do not attend these sessions are always at a disadvantage, as materials appearing on tests and exams are often covered only in tutoring sessions.

Public schools are underfunded. Currently, only primary schools are subsidized by the government, to 50% of the total tuition cost. Enrollment rates may be high; however, primary education quality, particularly in poor areas, is below the required standard.[23] Moreover, the drop-out rate after fifth grade is also high for those in rural and mountainous area since most students cannot afford to attend secondary school or university due to poverty. Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs) found that for many poor households, child labor is considered more valuable than school attendance in short-term economics. Regular school absenteeism also leads to poor academic performance. For poor families, the opportunity cost of sending their children to school is perceived to be high and the long-term benefit of education cannot outweigh the short-term economic losses.[23] In response to these challenges, the Ministry of Education and Training has implemented a number of educational reforms from 2015 to onwards.[8][9][10]

• Vietnamese studies
• List of universities in Vietnam