Supplementing the vocational secondary school model: A turning point in the work of streamlining after junior high school

According to Dr. Truong Anh Dung, Director of the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education, Ministry of Education and Training , the Draft Law on Vocational Education Amendments being submitted to the National Assembly proposes that vocational secondary school is a new educational model in vocational education. This is an educational model at the same level as high school, for those who have graduated from junior high school. After completing the course, an assessment exam will be held to award a vocational secondary school graduation certificate.

Vocational secondary school program is an educational program (with a training period of 3 years) integrating general cultural knowledge and professional expertise to complete general education after junior high school, while equipping learners with professional capacity to be able to immediately participate in the labor market or continue to study at a higher level in a suitable industry or field. Vocational secondary school program is implemented at colleges, intermediate schools and vocational secondary schools.

Vocational secondary schools are vocational education institutions organized under different names including vocational secondary schools, technical secondary schools, art secondary schools and other secondary schools suitable for the field or group of training majors and occupations. With the new model, students after secondary school have more options, both continuing to study the high school program and learning vocational skills. This is a new model to improve the efficiency of student streaming after secondary school, especially for specialized specialized training, including the field of art.

Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Training, affirmed that this is a "turning point" in the work of student streaming after junior high school. In fact, Vietnam used to have a vocational high school model, but for many reasons, this model disappeared after 1998. The addition and reintroduction of vocational high school into the law this time is an adjustment in the right direction, restoring a clearly defined technical high school level, interconnected and linked to the labor market, in line with international trends. The greatest significance of the vocational high school model is to open up more parallel and equal learning paths.

In Vietnam today, each year there are more than one million students graduating from junior high school, but not everyone wants or is qualified to study high school. Vocational secondary school helps students to both study culture and learn a profession, still having a high school diploma to continue studying or go to work early. While the current vocational secondary school program maintains a separate cultural teaching method, heavy workload and little integration of practice, the vocational secondary school model aims to integrate culture with profession from the beginning, only retaining core, essential subjects. Students can study culture and profession in parallel, have a high school diploma to continue studying, and receive earlier, more practical and easier to absorb practical training.

According to Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, reintroducing vocational secondary education into the new law is a start, but success or failure depends on how it is done. If the name is only changed but the teaching method remains the same, it will fail like "9+2 intermediate level". However, if it is done in the right international spirit, considering this as a skill-oriented education line, with output standards, lifelong learning opportunities and being respected by society, this could become a historic turning point for vocational education in Vietnam.

To do this, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh said that it is necessary to build a unified output standard applicable to vocational high schools; actively promote communication to change awareness, helping parents and students understand that vocational training is not inferior but is another choice, another path to achieve the same level. In addition, the State also needs to pay attention to investing heavily in vocational schools, from facilities to staff so that students have a quality learning experience; promote international integration by announcing bilingual output standards, issuing transparent diploma supplements, helping students to study and work abroad...

Sharing about this issue at the 2025 Vocational Education Conference, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the vocational secondary school model that the Ministry of Education and Training has just added to the Draft Law on Revised Vocational Education will solve many current shortcomings. This model does not replace the model of the Vocational Education Center, continuing education but will replace the model of the secondary school system, solving teachers' concerns about integrating vocational and cultural training; contributing to solving the problem of student streaming after secondary school.

"With the addition of vocational secondary school, secondary education will have two parallel paths. The first path is high school and the second path is vocational secondary school. In which, if high school is for the majority, vocational secondary school is a deep integration between the core content of high school education and vocational education. This model is for students after junior high school, not for adults. Therefore, it is expected that in the coming time, a part of the system of secondary schools following the 9+ model will be converted to the vocational secondary school model in a flexible and proficient manner to ensure streaming. Some localities will review and change the functions and tasks of some continuing education and vocational education centers, completely converting them to vocational secondary schools. The non-public sector, the system of non-public secondary schools will also be encouraged to convert to this model and this will also be one of the key tasks to be implemented in 2026", Minister Nguyen Kim Son emphasized.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/bo-sung-mo-hinh-trung-hoc-nghe-buoc-ngoat-trong-cong-tac-phan-luong-sau-bac-thcs-i786808/