Education in Vietnam

Education in Vietnam
Ministry of Education and Training
Minister Phùng Xuân Nhạ
National education budget (2012)
Budget 6.3% of GDP[1]
General details
Primary languages Vietnamese
System type Public, private
Literacy (2015 est.)
Total 94.5%[1]
Male 96.3%[1]
Female 92.8%[1]
Primary 7.54 million[2]
Secondary 2.4 million[2]
Post secondary 2,363,942[3]
Attainment (2014)
Secondary diploma 94%[4]
Post-secondary diploma 441,800[3]

Education in Vietnam is a state-run system of public and private education run by the Ministry of Education and Training. It is divided into five levels: preschool, primary school, secondary school, high school, and higher education. Formal education consists of twelve years of education basic. Basic education consists of five years of primary education, four years of intermediate education, and three years of secondary education. The majority of basic education students are enrolled on a half-day basis. The main education goal in Vietnam is "improving people’s general knowledge, training quality human resources, and nurturing and fostering talent."[5]

Vietnam is known for its rigorous curriculum that is deemed as competitive for students. Secondary education is one of the most significant social issues in the country: designated schools known as "High schools for the gifted" (Trường trung học phổ thông chuyên) are regarded as prestigious and often demand high entrance examination results. Higher education is also a fundamental cornerstone in Vietnamese society. Entrance to university is determined through the National High School Graduation Examination, whose results will be considered for evaluation. The higher the score is, the more prestigious the institution will be. Failure to attend university often leads to social stigma, as those who could not pass the Graduation Examination would be looked down upon by members of society.

With one of the highest GDP growth rates in Asia, Vietnam is attempting to improve its education system; in 2012, estimated national budget for education was 6.3%.[1] In the last decade, Vietnamese public reception of the country's education system has been mixed. Citizens have been critical of the rigorous curriculum, which has led to serious social issues including depression, anxiety, and even increasing suicide rates.[6] There have been comments from the public that schools should opt for a more flexible studying program, with less emphasis on paper tests and more focus on life skills development.[7] In response to public opinion, the Ministry of Education and Training has come up with resolutions to reform the education system, which were met with both positive and negative feedback, leaving education reform still a controversial topic to date.[8][9][10]

Types of educational establishments

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

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

School grades

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 and lasts until June.

Level/Grade Typical age
Preschool
Pre-school playgroup 3-4
Kindergarten 4-6
Primary education
First grade 6-7
Second grade 7-8
Third grade 8-9
Fourth grade 9-10
Fifth grade 10-11
Middle school
Sixth grade 11–12
Seventh grade 12-13
Eighth grade 13–14
Ninth grade 14-15
Secondary school
Tenth grade 15–16
Eleventh grade 16–17
Twelfth grade 17–18
Post-secondary education
University[upper-alpha 1] Ages vary (usually 4 years)
College[upper-alpha 1] Ages vary (usually 2 years)

Academic grading

Pre-primary education

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.

Primary education

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 significant disparity in the primary education completion rate among different ethnicity. While primary completion rate for Kinh students was 86%, the rate for ethnic minority children was only 61%.[13]

In 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:

Intermediate/ Lower secondary education

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. 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).in 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]

Middle school and secondary school education

Middle school education (Vietnamese: trung học cơ sở) consists of grades six to nine, while secondary school/high 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]

Middle and secondary curriculum

All subjects are compulsory for students

Advanced classes consists of either:

At the start of secondary school, students can enroll in Specialist Classes if they pass the class entrance exam, which usually consists of a Mathematics exam, a Literature exam, an English exam and an exam of the subject that the student wants to specialize in. The specialised subject can be any of the subjects listed above, except Technology, Physical Education and Civics. Students enrolled in these programs have a heavier workload than regular secondary school students. The workload varies from school to school, but grade 11 students are generally expected to study grade 12 courses concurrently. Other courses include university-level courses. Some schools go as far as requiring their students to finish secondary school by the end of grade 10.

Only prestigious schools offer these classes, and they have yet to be standardized.

High School Graduation Examination

All high school students in Vietnam are required to take the National High School Graduation Examination (Kỳ thi Trung học phổ thông quốc gia), which is administered by the Ministry of Education and Training, at the end of grade 12 to get a diploma called the High School Graduation Certificate (Bằng tốt nghiệp Trung học phổ thông). They still have to take the regular end-of-term examinations before taking the High School Graduation Examination.

The Ministry of Education and Training announced that for the graduation examination of 2017, five papers would be included: Mathematics, Literature, Foreign language, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. Three papers are mandatory for all students: Mathematics, Literature, and Foreign language. Foreign language exam can be one of the following: English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian. Apart from three mandatory papers, student must complete a fourth paper by choosing either natural sciences (a combination of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) or Social Sciences (a combination of History, Geography, and Civic Education). In some cases, students can take both the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and will choose the paper with the higher result to be evaluated.[16]

Higher education

Vietnam National University is among the oldest and most prestigous state instututions for higher education in Vietnam.
In recent times, private universities are also a major contributor to higher education in Vietnam. Shown here is the RMIT University Vietnam located in Ho Chi Minh City

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 D consists of 6 subgroups based on the languages they provide in universities:

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

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 still 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 4 subjects for exam include 3 compulsory: mathematic,literature and foreign language (mostly English) and 1 sub-subject such as : physics, chemistry, geography, biology, history. After the result has been given, the student can use their score to pass high school graduation exam and to go to their desired college with 3 chosen points from the 4 given.

Types of Higher Education Institutions

Vietnamese Government decree (decree 43/2000/ND-CP, dated August 30, 2000) identified three types of higher education institutions:

In addition, there are junior college or community colleges, professional secondary schools, and vocational schools which offer degrees or certificates, such as PSB College, which offers Business Management Diplomas, courses lasting from a few months to two years long.

In the school year 2010-2011,Vietnam had a total of 163 universities (including senior colleges and institutes) and 223 junior colleges, in which 50 senior colleges and 30 junior colleges are non-public.[19]

The presence of foreign universities is increasing. Universities such as PSB International College, RMIT and University of Hawaii offer degrees in fields such as business, English as a Second Language and Information Technology. Running a foreign education system in Vietnam is challenging. Quality control and affordability are key issues, as well as red tape.

Higher education qualifications

Most of Vietnam's universities also offer master's (2 years) and Doctor of Philosophy (4 years) degrees.

Teaching quality issues

The entire higher education system is facing several crises, 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 have a lack of knowledge despite being taught a lot due to the fact that the main purpose of studying hard is to pass exams. 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% are still unemployed with the majority unable to find a job. Among those employed, 61% said they lacked sufficient working skill, 42% lacked experience and 32% cited insecure professional expertise.[21]

Aside from degrees offered by foreign universities, qualifications from Vietnamese universities are not recognized worldwide.

Teaching methods delivered in the public system are teacher-oriented. Class discussions are uncommon, and students are expected to be studious and passively attentive in the classroom. This method is a manifestation of Confucian culture, and is a sharp contrast to American and British pedagogy, where interaction and debate are more 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 60USD and 100USD, so many supplement their income by moonlighting, working in the private sector or teaching in these tutoring sessions. 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, especially 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 much more valuable than school attendance. 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]

Private language centers offering English as a Second Language are in high demand in the larger cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Students flock to these schools to increase their employment opportunities. These classes are usually taught by foreign expatriates who are generally paid between 10 and 20 US dollars per hour, depending both on their qualifications, and on the quality of the school. Lower standards in some of the lower paying schools have resulted in a proliferation of low-quality teachers (known to the community as "backpacker teachers", who are typically travelers hired for teaching, hence "backpacker").

Notes

  1. 1 2 In Vietnam, tertiary education is divided into two types: university education (giáo dục đại học)–which offers research-orientated programs and lasts for four years, and college education (giáo dục cao đẳng)–which offers vocational programs and lasts for two years.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The World Factbook: Vietnam". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Số liệu thống kê giáo dục Việt Nam" [Education statistics in Vietnam] (in Vietnamese). General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Số liệu thống kê giáo dục đại học, cao đẳng" [Education statistics for higher education (university, college) in Vietnam] (in Vietnamese). General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Số liệu thống kê tốt nghiệp THPT theo địa phương" [Secondary graduation statistics by provinces] (in Vietnamese). General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "World Data on Education. 7th Ed" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Hoang, Lien (1 November 2013). "Ending Vietnam's 'Suicide Season'". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Suicide cases show Vietnamese students lack life skills". Lao Động (via Vietnamnet). 27 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Linh, Thuy (11 November 2015). "Vietnam's ambitious education reform plans come in for praise". Thanh Niên. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Tran, Van Hoa (21 April 2016). "Grading Vietnam's higher education reforms". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Vinh Quoc, Le (10 September 2015). "Education reform in limbo". Người lao động (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  11. ↑ http://www.ired.edu.vn/en/Documents/LegalDocuments/27
  12. 1 2 Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training (2006). 'Vietnam Primary Education'. Retrieved on 2012-03-03.
  13. ↑ Retrieved on 2012-03-04.
  14. 1 2 UNESCO (2011) "World Data on Education. 7th Ed.". UNESCO. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Education in Vietnam, World Bank
  16. ↑ "Thi đại học và thi tốt nghiệp THPT quốc gia 2017 như thế nào?" (in Vietnamese). Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam, via Luyện thi THPT quốc gia. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Khối H, N, S được miễn thi môn Ngữ văn." (in Vietnamese). Dantri.com. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  18. ↑ Sheridan, G. (2010),'Vietnam higher education sector analysis.', ADB Technical Assistance Consultants’ Report. Retrieved on 2012-02-20.
  19. ↑ 'Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training General Statistics.'Retrieved on 2012-3-1.
  20. ↑ Sheridan, G. (2010),'Vietnam higher education sector analysis.', ADB Technical Assistance Consultants’ Report. Retrieved on 2012-02-20.
  21. ↑ Retrieved on 2012-03-03
  22. ↑ Napier, Nancy K.; Vuong, Quan Hoang. What we see, why we worry, why we hope: Vietnam going forward. Boise, ID: Boise State University CCI Press, October 2013. ISBN 978-0985530587.
  23. 1 2 ’Education for All in Vietnam: high enrollment, but problems of quality remain.’ (2010). Retrieved on 2012-03-04
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