Director General of Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences (VNIES) Le Anh Vinh, who introduced himself as a ‘member of the 8X generation’, said when he was going to school, he and his classmates did not hear about the ‘happy school’ concept. However, he said he studied next to a school which always had the motto that ‘every day at school is a happy day’.

“Later, I asked my father why he didn’t send me to that school. My father said though ‘happy school’ sounded very interesting, he was not sure what I would have learned and what my future would have been like if I had studied there,” Vinh recalled.

“Happy school’ is an education facility where students can be truly themselves and can develop on the basis of their abilities,” Vinh said.

“Building a happy school is not the responsibility of certain individuals or organizations. Teachers, schools, students and parents all contribute to creating a space and environment for children to be themselves and grow according to their own abilities and dreams,” Vinh said.

Vu Minh Duc from the Ministry of Education and Training’s (MOET) Department of Teachers and Educational Management Officers commented that for the 6X generation students like him, going to school was happiness. But today, both students and teachers feel pressure.

“In the era of technology and social network boom, behavior of teachers, including minor mistakes, can create a ‘storm’ on social media. Therefore, teachers have become more reserved and they dare not show their true feelings,” Duc said, adding that today’s teachers feel pressure.

Duc stressed that happy schools must be built on three core criteria – love, safety and respect.

“The building of happy schools must originate from one’s real demand which aims at bringing happiness to students. We must not build happy schools just to follow the crowd,” he said.

“Respecting the differences of each subject must be a rule when designing the ‘happy school’ model,” he added.

Louise Aukland from University of Oxford said making students happy doesn’t just mean making them smile, but also making them feel they belong to the schools. At some schools, students’ photos are placed on a tree, which makes them believe they are part of the schools.

Thuy Nga