Opportunities come with challenges.

A lesson at Cau Giay Secondary School ( Hanoi ). (Illustrative image.)

Many outstanding advantages

Mr. Ha Xuan Nham, Head of the Secondary Education Department (Hanoi Department of Education and Training), stated: From the 2017-2018 school year to the present, Hanoi has two public high schools piloting a dual-degree program combining the Vietnamese high school diploma and the British high school diploma: Chu Van An High School and Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. At the lower secondary level, seven schools are piloting a dual-degree program combining the Vietnamese lower secondary diploma and the Cambridge IGCSE certificate.

At high schools, as of the end of May 2023, 246 students had completed the dual-degree program and taken the A-Level exams, including: Chu Van An High School with 125 students and Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted with 121 students. Statistics show that in some exams, Hanoi students achieved higher scores than the world average.

Besides achieving A-Level certificates, students participating in the dual-degree program also achieve excellent results in the Vietnamese curriculum. 100% of students achieve excellent academic performance and good conduct, possess strong social skills, are dynamic, and have good proficiency in foreign languages ​​and computer science. The majority of students are admitted to and receive scholarships to prestigious universities both domestically and internationally. Currently, 13 top universities in Vietnam offer direct admission to Vietnamese high school graduates with A-Level certificates.

At junior high schools, students in the dual-degree program, following the curriculum of the Ministry of Education and Training, are highly rated in terms of overall knowledge, with English and several other skills being particularly outstanding.

100% of students achieved excellent or good academic results. No students experienced difficulties with the Vietnamese curriculum. Many students in the dual-degree program are core members participating in district, city, and international academic competitions.

Students in the dual-degree program who participated in the IGCSE exams in all subjects of the program achieved outstanding results, with subsequent cohorts consistently improving and surpassing previous ones.

Students participating in the project, in addition to achieving good results in both programs, also had many students winning high awards in national and international competitions. Specifically, at the junior high schools, there were 62 national awards and 102 international awards in various competitions.

As of the end of May 2023, 891 students had participated in the dual program of Vietnamese lower secondary education and Cambridge IGCSE. Of these, 231 students took the IGCSE exams with outstanding results, exceeding the average scores in all subjects worldwide.

As the only public school in Hanoi with two levels of education (high school and middle school) piloting the dual-degree program, and with 100% of the teachers in the Board of Directors and subject departments participating in the program coordination committee, Ms. Tran Thuy Duong - Principal of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted - shared that students in the dual-degree program at the school consistently achieve high results in gifted student competitions, specialized 10th-grade entrance exams, and dual-degree 10th-grade entrance exams. They also win many high scholarships from top universities worldwide; and always demonstrate creativity in both the main curriculum and extracurricular activities.

Le Quynh Chi, a student in class 9C2 at Ngo Si Lien Secondary School, said that the dual-degree program helps her develop language skills, enhance interaction, and practice communication. It also helps her express herself confidently and dynamically, and be ready to proactively interact and integrate.

Much greater effort is needed.

Speaking about the difficulties in implementing the project, Mr. Ha Xuan Nham added: The management team, coordinators, and teachers teaching the Vietnamese curriculum are in the process of accumulating experience and learning.

In addition to their assigned duties in implementing the Cambridge program, teachers continue to fulfill other responsibilities within the school, thus lacking the time to participate in training, workshops, and self-study to gain a deeper understanding of the program and provide effective support to students. Financial allocation for the training and development of human resources for the program is also not clearly and rationally defined.

From the students' perspective, because they have to study two programs simultaneously, the weekly schedule is quite packed, and the workload is relatively large, leaving little time for extracurricular activities and personal development. At the lower secondary level, students who begin to study some subjects in English also face some initial obstacles.

At the high school level, Economics/Business is a new subject, so the results are lower than in natural science subjects because students have not been introduced to it since the middle school level...

Hanoi Department of Education and Training Director Tran The Cuong also noted: During the implementation of the project, there are still some shortcomings that need to be addressed. Initially, a team of teachers and administrators with professional qualifications, dedication, and responsibility has been built, but the number of administrators and teachers capable of coordinating and officially teaching the Cambridge International program is still too small, leading to a lack of proactive human resource management.

Five schools have been recognized as Cambridge member schools, but their facilities and equipment, especially the functional rooms, only partially meet the standards of the Cambridge program. Further investment, upgrading, and improvement are still needed to ensure effective experiments, practical training, and real-world experiences for students in the dual-degree program.

In order to continue implementing the project in the next phase, Mr. Cuong suggested that schools continue to refine the project proposal for the new phase, and once the legal framework is in place, they will submit it to the competent authorities for approval.

This includes focusing on researching and proposing appropriate policy mechanisms to address obstacles in building a core team of teachers to participate in teaching international programs in public schools, striving to have a stable team of international teachers in terms of quantity and ensuring quality according to the criteria of the Cambridge program; strengthening the governance role of schools, improving the management and operation capacity of the program, and gradually assuming a leading role in coordinating and implementing the international program.

At the same time, schools also need to promote the role of the new education model in international integration, strengthen the exchange and sharing of experiences, strive to become exemplary management models, and serve as places for learning and transferring advanced skills and teaching methods between teachers teaching the Vietnamese education program and teachers teaching the international education program; propose financial mechanisms, ensuring the principles of transparency and openness in accordance with the law…

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/dao-tao-song-bang-cap-trung-hoc-co-hoi-di-lien-thach-thuc-10277505.html