Ho Chi Minh City aims to become leading education hub in Asia by 2030

Ho Chi Minh City aims to position itself as a leading and integrated education hub for Asia by 2030, as outlined in its education development strategy. The Ministry of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City has released a plan to implement the government’s action program for the city’s development until 2030, with a vision for 2045.

Announced by the People’s Committee on Jan. 18, aims to establish an equitable and supportive environment for lifelong learning, fostering the growth of a skilled workforce to fulfill the city’s developmental requirements.

While not explicitly defining the criteria for “high quality,” the People’s Committee has outlined nine specific objectives to be accomplished by 2030.

The outlined objectives include:

• Ensuring a class size of 30-35 students at all levels.
• Ensuring 100 percent of primary schools, 70 percent of middle schools, and 80 percent of high schools have two sessions a day.
• Ensuring 80 percent of high school students can fluently communicate and learn in a foreign language, with 100 percent of high school graduates having basic IT application skills and 50 percent achieving international computer literacy standards.
• Ensuring 100 percent of secondary school students are proficient in at least one art, play at least one musical instrument, and engage in one sport.
• Having 60 percent of kindergartens, 80 percent of primary schools, 70 percent of middle schools, and 50 percent of public high schools meet national standards in terms of facilities.
• Ensuring each district has at least two schools at each level (kindergarten, primary, middle school, high school) offering high-quality, advanced international integration programs.
• Targeting to make 100 percent of schools in the city smart schools.
• Building four new high-quality multi-level schools in Thu Duc City, and Binh Chanh and Cu Chi districts, each on a minimum area of five hectares.
• Reducing the number of educational staff paid by the city by 10 percent compared to 2021.

Currently, the city has nearly 1.7 million students, 90,000 teachers, and more than 2,310 schools, with only 15 percent meeting national standards. Out of these schools, 1,350 are public.

Collaboration with Google
At a recent meeting between Google and Ho Chi Minh City officials, both sides expressed mutual interest in strengthening their partnership in the educational sector. Paul Hutchings, the Google for Education Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, emphasized that this is an opportune moment for the city to accelerate its digital transformation efforts.

Hutchings conveyed gratitude towards the local government for its consistent support during Google’s educational development initiatives in the city. He expressed confidence that together, they can develop a novel strategy centered on technology usage. This would aid in harnessing the full potential of both students and educators in the region.

In the forthcoming period, Google plans to roll out its Chromebooks solution in Vietnam. Hutchings outlined Google’s commitment to delivering a comprehensive educational technology ecosystem, incorporating advancements in technology and Artificial Intelligence tailored for education.

Furthermore, Google aims to showcase its state-of-the-art solutions, contributing to the city’s digital economic growth and the broader Vietnamese landscape. The primary focus is on nurturing human resources, Hutchings elaborated during the meeting.

Scholarship for Vietnamese students

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for an expansion of scholarship programs aimed at Vietnamese students in his recent visit to the University of San Francisco.

During his address, the prime minister highlighted the importance of educational collaboration, particularly in emerging sectors such as innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy and the sharing economy, all of which are crucial to Vietnam’s future.

“Vietnam is in need of human resources in new fields such as innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy and sharing economy. I hope that the University of San Francisco will provide Vietnamese students with more scholarship programs focusing on these areas,” the official said.