Education System of Vietnam

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is responsible for the administration of education in Vietnam at the national level. It sets the policies for all levels of education in Vietnam. The management of the education sector in Vietnam is centralised. The Department of Education and Training manages the upper secondary schools and professional secondary schools at the provincial level, while the District Bureaus of Education and Training manages the lower secondary schools and primary schools present locally in the districts. Though, there are some of the higher education institutions in Vietnam that are being administered and managed by the government agencies or ministries.

Educational institutions in Vietnam are public and non-public. 

Public institutions: These educational institutions are set up and managed by the State.  

People-founded educational institutions: These educational institutions are established by the non-government organizations after seeking permission from the state.  They do not receive any funding from the state, rather funded by local communities.

Semi-public educational institutions: These educational institutions are established by the state along with the individuals in the society who together provides funds for infrastructure. Costs are generally covered by the student fees. 

Private educational institutions: These educational institutions are established by the individuals or groups of individuals after getting approval from the state; and are owned and overseen by the private individuals. 

Formal education in Vietnam comprises of 12 years of basic education. Basic education comprises of 5 years of primary education, 4 years of intermediate/lower education, and 3 years of upper secondary education. The education system is split up into four educational stages:

Primary Education in Vietnam is compulsory and free of charge. However, pupils are required to pay for textbooks and uniform. 

Pre-primary education is optional and is for children aged 3 months to 6 years old. Th pre-primary education is a part of general education and is offered by both public and private sector. It includes creches and kindergarten schools.

General education in Vietnam comprises of:

Primary education is compulsory to attend and is for children aged 6-11 years. This level covers grades 1-5. The Vietnam primary education curriculum is split up into 2 phases:

Phase 1: Covers Grades 1, 2 and 3. This phase includes the following subjects: Morality, mathematics, physical education, Vietnamese language, arts, and nature and society.

Phase 2: Covers Grades 4 and 5. This phase comprises of nine subjects: Science, Vietnamese language, arts, basic techniques, mathematics, physical education, music, Morality, geography, and history.

General secondary education is split up into 2 cycles:

Lower secondary education lasts for 4 years and covers grades 6-9. It is also referred to as Junior high school (In Vietnamese: trung học cơ sở). 

This level of education lasts for 3 years and covers grades 10-12. This level prepares students for higher level sudies or workforce.

Professional secondary education: It lasts for 3-4 school years for students who have a lower secondary education diploma; and for students who have a upper secondary education diploma, for them it lasts for 1-2 school years.

Vocational training: It consists of vocational preliminary programme that last for 1 year; and is also comprised of vocational secondary college programmes lasting 1-3 years.

Higher education in Vietnam is offered by the public and private universities, junior colleges and academic research institutes. 

In Vietnam, most of the districts have care centres for the disabled children.  These centres encourage children to study in general education settings. General education classes are usually proximate to the home, less costly, and have better trained teachers.