Building international-standard
schools is a chief priority of the education system in HCM City, which leads the
country in training and pedagogical innovation.

Eighth-graders take part in a chemistry experiment at Nguyen Du Junior High School in HCM City’s Go Vap District. The city is looking to raise educational standards to international levels. (Photo: VNS)

The city
has devised a plan to integrate its instructional system into the international
education system via three major tasks.

Building
high-quality schools is the core component of the strategy.

The
other two tasks include sending students and teachers to study or train abroad,
and cooperating with international partners in adopting advanced education
methods and attracting more foreign investment.

For the
past two decades, the nation’s education system has been in a transitional
period.

The
radical changes introduced by the Doi Moi (renewal) period in 1986 have deeply
affected all aspects of socio-economic development, including education.

The
current adjustment is the fourth educational reform since 1945 and the second
after the country’s reunification in 1975.

Although
HCM City has been leading the country in education reform, it still faces
challenges adapting to rapid urbanisation and other social and economic changes
that have put pressure on its education system to meet the needs of a growing
population, according to Le Hong Son, deputy head of HCM City’s Education and
Training Department.

The
population increase, driven mostly by migrants from other provinces, has led to
a higher classroom size of between 40 and 50 students.

The city
is now home to more than 7 million people, an increase of more than 2 million
over the last decade.

The
curriculum, overwhelmed by theory and lacking in practical application, has also
held back the progress of educational quality, according to Son.

Teachers
play a pivotal role in the improvement of educational quality, but since they
are still struggling to earn a living, especially in poor areas, they do not put
much effort in improving their skills and quality of teaching, he added.

To build
international-standard schools, the city expects to provide two shifts of
classes each day so that it would have no more than 30 students in each class.

The city
also would provide libraries, equipment and playing fields for students, give
teachers good working conditions, and become independent in attracting
investment and human resources.

Recently, the education and training department conducted a survey with
students’ parents on how to build high-standard, quality schools.

Based on
their ideas and international standards, the new schools will provide an
education that offers students comprehensive development, with less theory and
more practice, and better living skills, according to the department.

Although
more than 1,000 rooms are built yearly in HCM City, a shortage still exists.

The city
was speeding up construction of new schools to meet the demand and to be on
track to have an international-standard education system by 2020, said Son,
adding that the country was on its way to become an industrialised nation in 10
years.

To
fulfil the goal, other key tasks include the improvement in quantity and quality
of teachers, and the reform of teaching methodologies and the curriculum.

Son said
that it would also be critical for the entire society, including communities,
social organisations and other sectors, to be involved in the effort to reform
the education system.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News