Director General of the Secondary Education Department (under MoET) Nguyen Xuan Thanh reported that in the previous academic year, many high schools in Vietnam had to turn to the distance teaching and learning mode via the Internet or television during the time students stopped coming to school due to Covid-19. That allowed general education to maintain the schedule and to achieve impressive results.
In the last school year, Vietnam sent 37 students to the regional and global Olympic contests, earning 12 gold medals, 13 silver and 10 bronze ones. In the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), one project by Vietnamese students won the third prize, along with two projects winning special prizes from science-technology businesses, associations, and organizations.
As the Covid-19 pandemic is still complex in the upcoming school year, the first goal of secondary education is to strictly observe all regulations on Covid-19 prevention and control in school while trying to improve education quality. To achieve this, the development and organization of the plan for the school year must be flexible to actively address any possible trouble arisen by the pandemic or disasters.
Furthermore, the 2021-2022 academic year is the first year to apply new curriculum for the second and sixth grades. The educational staff must be well-trained for this and prepare for the launch of a new curriculum for the third, seventh, and tenth grades in two more years.
Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son asked that all schools and teachers be more flexible, innovative in their teaching plans based on MoET’s issued timeframe and core knowledge, skills to be taught. This core content is published in a document and is suggested to be taught via direct teaching mode.
Minister Son also mentioned the need of moral education in school, along with academic knowledge so that students become a rounded person. He stressed on the spirit of autonomy, of real learning and real exam result, which means to avoid copying from models at all cost, especially in literature subject.
Finally the Minister requested that the localities must take care of the teaching staff and support students when they follow the distance learning mode.
