Highlights of Ho Chi Minh City education: Pioneering in digital transformation

(Dan Tri) - Digital transformation, international integration and continued development of happy schools are the highlights of the Ho Chi Minh City education sector in the renovation period.

Pioneer in digital transformation

In recent years, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City has concretized the education development strategy associated with digital transformation through many programs, projects and pioneering models, aiming to build "Digital Schools - Digital Students - Digital Teachers".

Since 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City education sector has deployed a set of standards for recognizing digital schools as a breakthrough to promote digital transformation in education.

According to Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the city's education sector has built a specific roadmap and deployed strategic task groups, including building comprehensive educational data; implementing artificial intelligence training programs for students; and improving digital transformation capacity for managers and teachers.

Ho Chi Minh City's education sector is a pioneer in many digital transformation programs (Photo: KN).

These programs are designed based on experiences from advanced countries such as Japan and Singapore, while ensuring consistency with domestic educational programs.

The application of information technology is not only limited to administrative management but also widely spread to every classroom and every teaching and learning activity.

The entire industry has synchronously deployed an educational database platform, unified connection between educational institutions, supporting the management of student records, learning outcomes, teacher expertise and school activities.

This system contributes to improving transparency, saving time, and effectively serving the work of directing, operating and making decisions based on data.

Ho Chi Minh City is also a pioneer in introducing the international digital skills standard ICDL (International Computer Driving License) to many schools. This not only helps students obtain a widely recognized international IT certificate but also opens up opportunities for technology integration, creating a solid foundation for the future generation of “digital citizens”.

This is also one of the leading localities in implementing a large-scale online learning, testing and assessment system, synchronized from primary to high school levels.

Make English a Second Language

In recent years, Ho Chi Minh City's strategic vision of focusing on implementing models, programs and projects to improve the quality of English teaching and learning has created a premise for the locality to soon make English the second language in schools.

In particular, with Project 5695 "Teaching and learning math, science and English integrating English and Vietnamese programs", approved by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City in 2014, up to now, more than 30,000 students from 160 schools have attended.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the learning results of students participating in Project 5695 are always high, especially in math and science. The percentage of students achieving excellent scores in periodic and final tests in math and science in English is always 85%-90%.

Students in Ho Chi Minh City during an integrated English class under Project 5695 (Photo: NK).

The rate of students taking the Pearson Edexcel international certificate exam with an average Pass result in the three subjects of English, math, and science over 10 years is 86% in primary school, 92% in secondary school, and 96% in high school.

During 10 years of implementation, the integrated English program has helped many students in Ho Chi Minh City achieve high results in international academic exams, such as 5 students achieving the highest scores in the world in Pearson Edexcel international certification exams, 41 students receiving the highest scores nationwide from the Pearson Edexcel International Examination Council, and 119 students receiving excellent student awards.

Leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City informed that the majority of students, upon completing the program at all levels, achieved the corresponding level according to the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework of the Ministry of Education and Training, equivalent to the levels according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, assessed that the successful implementation of Project 5695 in recent years has clearly demonstrated the strategic vision of Ho Chi Minh City leaders in improving foreign language proficiency. The outstanding achievements of the city's students in international certification exams are also concrete evidence of the effectiveness of the program.

This is the basis for continuing to expand the application and realize the direction of Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW of the Politburo on implementing fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, orienting step by step to make English the second language in schools.

The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City emphasized that making English the second language in schools is not only an educational goal but also a step to prepare for the future, helping the young generation of Ho Chi Minh City confidently become global citizens.

Happy school highlight

Ho Chi Minh City is the first unit in the country to implement the happy school model on a large scale and systematically. The happy school model was piloted by Ho Chi Minh City in the 2022-2023 school year, and will begin to be replicated in the 2023-2024 school year.

In 2023, the city issued a set of happy school criteria with 18 criteria divided into 3 groups of standards: on people; on teaching and educational activities; on the environment.

Happy schools are a bright spot in the education sector in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Hoai Nam).

The Happy School project was implemented by Ho Chi Minh City with the aim of strengthening the building of a culture of behavior in schools, creating fundamental changes in the cultural behavior of cadres, teachers, staff, students and trainees to develop capacity, perfect personality, cultural lifestyle; improve the quality of education and training; contribute to building the image of Ho Chi Minh City people "living decently, civilized, modern, affectionate, dynamic and creative".

Happy School is a bright spot in the education sector of Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to the comprehensive development of students in the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program.

In the coming time, the city's education sector will continue to conduct research and practical assessments to make adjustments to the happy school criteria set to suit the new requirements of education and training, and the practical needs of society.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/nhung-diem-nhan-cua-giao-duc-tphcm-tien-phong-trong-chuyen-doi-so-20251011173959634.htm