Education in Vietnam

[5] Vietnam has undergone major political upheaval and social inequality throughout its recent history and is attempting to modernise.

Currently experiencing a high GDP growth rate, Vietnam is attempting to expand its education system.

[1] In the last decade, Vietnamese public reception of the country's education system has been mixed due to its inflexible nature and its tests.

Citizens have been critical of the curriculum, which has led to social issues including depression, anxiety, and increasing suicide rates.

[7] There have been comments from the public that schools should opt for a more flexible studying program, with less emphasis on tests and more focus on developing life skills.

[18] 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.

Ιn the end of year 8, student will participate in secondary vocational exam to earn extra-mark for the 10th grade examination.

[21] All high school students in Vietnam are required to take a high school graduation exam (Kỳ thi Tốt nghiệp Trung học phổ thông), which is administered by the Ministry of Education and Training, at the end of grade 12 to get a diploma called the Graduation Diploma of General Upper Secondary Education (Bằng tốt nghiệp Trung học phổ thông).

Securing a place in a public university is considered a major step in a successful career, especially for rural or otherwise disadvantaged people.

This prompted major calls for the government to help expand the tertiary sector, especially with increasing trend of enrolments into university from 1990 to 2019.

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.

Several universities offer college vocational degrees as well as shorter general and specific industry-tailored training courses.

Additionally, in the past, Viet Nam had followed a Soviet Union model where research and teaching institutes were separated instead of being together.

The higher education system has been criticised by Vietnam's diaspora, such as outdated curricula, a lecturer-centered method of teaching and learning, a lack of linkage between teaching and research activities, and a large discord between theory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.

This method may be a manifestation of Confucian culture and is in contrast to British and American pedagogy, where interaction and debate is prominent.

[31] Advanced and specialized high school students are generally expected to study additional courses, which can amount to a total of nine periods a day.

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.

[32] 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.

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.

Now schools are routinely inspected for foreign teachers (ostensibly to ensure the tax codes are applied) and, as part of this process, degrees and teaching qualifications must be verified by the holder's embassy or relevant authority.

The country has implemented OECD guidelines to the education sector with respect to English language skills of high school and university graduates.

In 2008, the Vietnamese government officially approved the Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in the National Education System in the 2008-2020 Period plan through Decision No.

Among other things, it set the ambitious goal of seeing 100 percent of students enrolled in a 10-year foreign language education program by 2020.