It is necessary to reorganize the structural framework of the national education system in the new period.

(Dan Tri) - To achieve the goal of comprehensive human development as set out in the Draft Document of the 14th National Congress, Vietnam needs to soon build an open, interconnected and internationally integrated national education system.

In the Draft Political Report to be presented to the 14th National Party Congress, the goal of comprehensive human development and building high-quality human resources continues to be affirmed as one of the three strategic breakthroughs. However, to achieve that goal, Vietnam needs a national education system framework that is consistent with the trend of openness, connectivity and international integration.

In fact, after more than 10 years of implementing Resolution 29-NQ/TW on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, Vietnam's national education system still shows many shortcomings. The structure of education levels and training qualifications is not unified, lacking connectivity, limiting people's ability to learn for life and hindering the building of a learning society.

From a professional perspective, I think this is the time to boldly restructure the national education system, not only to suit domestic conditions but also to be compatible with international standards, towards the goal of putting people at the center of sustainable development.

Opening ceremony of the new school year at Tran Phu High School, Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

The current system is closed and lacks connectivity.

The current structure of Vietnam's education system is regulated in three laws: the Law on Education, the Law on Vocational Education and the Law on Higher Education. However, there are still separations and overlaps between these three parts.

The whole system does not have the consistency to form an open education system because the Vocational Education (VET) block is separated. Because it is not a level of education, it cannot be considered to be above secondary education and below university education. Even between the elementary, intermediate and college levels in that block, there is no real connection. The VET Law stipulates that to be admitted to college, candidates must have both an intermediate degree and a high school diploma.

Moving from college to university is not easy at all because there are differences in educational standards and training program structure, regulated by two different state management agencies.

According to the UNESCO International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011), the current elementary and intermediate levels do not correspond to any of the ISCED2011 levels.

For example, for intermediate level, depending on the student's entry level, if he/she has graduated from junior high school, he/she will only achieve level 2/3 of ISCED (because the training time is too short), and if he/she has graduated from high school, he/she will have achieved level 4 of ISCED. But according to the Law on Vocational Education, both types of students have the same level.

In addition, ISCED 2011 also stipulates that college level must belong to higher education while according to the Law on Vocational Education, college is not considered to belong to higher education.

From the above reality, the division of students after junior high school is a dead end because students have no direction to continue their studies.

Most students try to enter high school to take the university entrance exam, or at least college. If they cannot enter high school, they are limited in their opportunities to continue their studies - which goes against the spirit of "lifelong learning" proposed by Resolution 29.

Towards an open, flexible and integrated education system

To overcome the above shortcomings, it is necessary to form an open, interconnected and unified national education system, including logically arranged levels of education and training, in accordance with international practices.

The basic principle of this system is to stream but not “close”: learners in any direction – academic or vocational – have the opportunity to continue to study at a higher level if they have the capacity. All learning paths lead to equal development opportunities.

Specifically, after junior high school, students can choose two directions: high school or vocational high school.

The high school stream mainly provides recruitment sources for colleges and universities. The vocational secondary stream mainly provides human resources to participate in the labor market, a large part will also be the recruitment source for practical colleges and then applied universities. It is estimated that the high school stream will initially account for no more than 50%, and the vocational secondary stream will account for over 30% of the scale of junior high school graduates.

Similarly, after high school, students have two directions: research/academic university (4-6 years) and applied/practical/professional including practical college (3 years) and applied university (4 years).

Meanwhile, the design time for students from vocational high school to practical college is only 2 years, from practical college to applied university is 2 years. This is a very popular solution in many countries to encourage students after junior high school to voluntarily follow the vocational high school stream. In some countries, the ratio of high school and vocational high school streams can reach 30:70.

This system will help diversify the workforce and meet the demands of the digital economy , where practical and creative skills are equally important. More importantly, it ensures lifelong learning opportunities - a core principle of any advanced education.

International experience shows that developed countries design open education systems with multiple entrances and exits. Students can return to school to continue studying at any time, accumulate credits, and easily change careers. Vietnam needs to learn this spirit, not copying models, but flexible systemic thinking linked to its own practices.

It is necessary to form an open, interconnected and unified national education system in accordance with international practices (Photo: Do ​​Minh Quan).

Recommendations for improving policies and unifying education management

To realize the orientation in the Draft Documents of the 14th Congress, I would like to propose some key solutions as follows:

First, it is necessary to unify the focal point for national education management. Separating vocational education from the general system has caused division and reduced the effectiveness of the national human resources strategy. All levels, from preschool to post-graduate, need to be managed uniformly by a single agency, the Ministry of Education and Training, to ensure consistency in policies, output standards and quality stratification.

Second, it is necessary to implement a mechanism for decentralizing education and training management for localities and educational institutions (in terms of professions, program content, educational institution network, etc.), closely following the economic transition structure and socio-economic development strategy of each region, as well as at the national level.

Third, it is necessary to redesign the national education system framework in accordance with the ISCED 2011 standards, ensuring compatibility and mutual recognition in the region and internationally. Then, the recognition of diplomas, credits and transfer between levels will be more transparent and effective.

Fourth, it is necessary to reorganize the system of high schools, professional secondary schools, vocational secondary schools, and local vocational training facilities to form two basic types of schools: high schools and vocational secondary schools/technical secondary schools.

Fifth, vocational education should be strongly encouraged through preferential policies on tuition fees, scholarships and job opportunities. Society must be made to understand that vocational training is no less valuable than university education. To do so, it is necessary to create conditions for vocational students to continue their studies to become technicians, applied engineers or technology experts.

Finally, there is a need to promote academic, financial and organizational autonomy for higher education institutions, coupled with transparent accountability. Only when schools are truly autonomous can education be innovative and responsive to social needs.

An open, interconnected, internationally integrated and people-centered national education system is not only a requirement of the education sector, but also a prerequisite for Vietnam to achieve its development aspirations by 2045.

If we do not change the way the system is organized soon, we will continue to see an imbalance in human resources, a gap between training and use, and a lag in global competition. On the contrary, if we can design a reasonable structure where all people have the opportunity to learn for life, that will be the most fundamental, sustainable and humane reform for Vietnam's education career.

Educational innovation, in the end, is not only about innovating the curriculum or teaching methods, but first of all, about innovating the thinking about the system and learning path of Vietnamese people in the 21st century.

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen - Former Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/can-to-chuc-lai-khung-co-cau-he-thong-giao-duc-quoc-dan-trong-giai-doan-moi-20251030192059077.htm