School education system in Vietnam

School Education System in Vietnam
	The education system in Vietnam divided into 4 levels: Primary education, Lower secondary education, Upper secondary education and Higher education. All schools in national education system are organized in the forms of Public schools, People-founded schools and Private schools. Schooling is compulsory for all Vietnamese children from the age of 6 to 17. The academic year runs from September to May and is divided into 2 semesters: the First one is from September to December, while the second one is from January to May, separated by a break due to the lunar New Year. Students are off from school in the Summer Vacation from June to August.
	Stepping into the 21st century, the Vietnamese education has undergone 15 years of renovation and has achieved some important results. According to UNICEF, 98% of children in Vietnam have completed the primary education, which is the highest rate in ASEAN. The literacy rate of population aged 15 is 94%. 78% of population has participated in secondary school. As a result, the rate of students who completed the upper secondary education reaches 43%. (Source: UNICEF, UNFPA). 
	The numbers above have showed us a very positive situation. However, there is some weakness that needs to be pointed out. The teaching method being applied by most school in Vietnam is the old and traditional one in which the teacher is the primary speaker and the learners are the primary listeners. This method creates boredom in learners and encourages passive study habit. On the other hand, teachers are also under high pressure to strictly follow the curricula governed by the Ministry of Education and Training, which are dense and out-of-date. Moreover, the size of classes in Vietnam is a huge challenge for teachers who want to apply new and modern teaching method. Such creative activities like group work, experiments or out-of-classroom activities are always affected by the size of classes, therefore out-of-the-question. The last but most important thing is examination which is really a burden to all of the learners. The huge amount of unnecessary knowledge that required to be learned by heart has made it extremely difficult for students to sail through the exam and restrained their creativity.
	All the shortcomings mentioned above are the real situations that need to be resolved immediately. Fortunately, there are some changes in educating way that shows a very hopeful trend for Vietnamese students. A more active method is gradually taking the place of memorization and rote learning since people has recognized the disadvantage of the old method. There are plenty of foreign investments that help level up the standard of Vietnam’s education system. And most important, the socialization of education being promoted rapidly in recent year has proved its efficiency. 
For the next few years, the government shall play a dominant role in developing the main mission of education, carry out the diversification of school types as well as encourage organizations to take part in the development. It is the responsibilities of all organizations, families and citizens to take care of the current education system, to cooperate with schools and government to figure out the goals that need to be achieved, and to build an advancing educational environment for all Vietnamese students.
Sources: This report uses some statistics and information from following sources:
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF):
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)
The Vietnam’s Institute for Research on Educational Development (IRED)
Wikipedia: