“In the past, personalization was not, or very rarely mentioned, while we attached much importance to collectivism. Students’ personality is the important factor to develop humanity,” Kieu said.

When asked if he finds the Program 2018 different from the current program, Dang Minh Tuan from UberMath said the subject matter is the same, but some knowledge has been omitted, and others hasmve been added in a reasonable way.

Tuan highly appreciates the presence of statistical science in the curriculum for primary education. He noted that the new program reserves appropriate time for practice hours, which he believes will help students better understand the nature of problems

If the education sector doesn’t change the way of testing and examination, the progressive ideas of the new general education program won’t be implemented.

However, positive reform depends on many factors.

Bui Manh Hung from the HCM City University of Education, said testing and examination are considered the steering wheel of the innovative ship. If the education sector doesn’t change the way of testing and examination, the progressive ideas of the new general education program won’t be implemented.

Commenting about the method of assessing students’ abilities, Tuan from UberMath said exam and school work scores alone won’t truly reflect students’ capability.

He thinks that school work scores should account for 60 percent of total scores used to assess students, while scores from project implementation 20 percent, and the remaining used to assess the attendance.

Meanwhile, Le Tue Minh, chair of Wellspring school system, emphasized the capability of teachers, saying that the factor will determine how the new general education program works in reality.

“Program 2018 emphasizes the development of learners’ ability. But to help students develop their abilities, teachers also need to be equipped with necessary capabilities,” she said.

A high school teacher in Hanoi doubts that teachers hlare ready to teach students in according tohm the new generation education programs.

“New programs require new teaching methods and new virtues. The training of teachers to adapt to the new requirements cannot be done overnight,” he said, adding that there is not much time to prepare for the Program 2018 implementation.

“Every student has specific abilities. How can teachers recognize the ability and help them develop the ability?” he said.

“How can teach students become creative if teachers themselves are not creative?” he said. 

Ha Lan

Education ministry vows to fix shortage of pre-school teachers

With just a few weeks to go for the start of the new school year, there is a worrying shortage of pre-school teachers in many localities nationwide.

Primary schools under universities: new education trend in Vietnam?

Many universities have enrolled students for general education, stirring a debate about whether this is legal.