Vietnam aims high with global education integration scheme until 2030

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long has signed a decision approving a scheme on global integration in education and training until 2030, aimed at fostering socio-economic development, people-to-people diplomacy and international cooperation across various sectors.

The scheme targets having at least 10 administrative units join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities by 2030, and integrating foreign curricula into preschools and general education establishments in five more cities and provinces.

A key pillar of this scheme is the aspiration for all of high school students to meet national standards for foreign language proficiency, with a particular emphasis on establishing English as a second language in schools. It also prioritises the professional development of teachers and education managers at all levels, ensuring they possess the necessary foreign language skills to guide their students effectively.

In higher education, the goal is for over 20% of joint training curricula with foreign establishments to involve disciplines offered by universities ranked among the world’s top 500. Vietnam also aims to increase the proportion of international students pursuing Vietnamese degrees to 1.5% and ensure that 8% of all Vietnamese lecturers engage in academic exchange, teaching, or research abroad annually.

Furthermore, over 20% of curricula in Vietnamese universities are expected to meet accreditation standards from reputable international organisations. The scheme also envisions attracting two additional campuses of prestigious foreign universities to Vietnam.

To such end, it outlines four key tasks and solutions, including perfecting education-training policies and mechanisms, promoting cooperation and fostering an international environment in education-training, improving the quality of education and training, and strengthening the capacity of educators and raising their awareness of global integration.

Bilateral and multilateral partnerships will be actively expanded, with a focus on neighbouring countries, nations with advanced education systems, strategic and comprehensive partners, and traditional friends.

The plan advocates for the development of new school models based on international best practices to create a globally-oriented learning environment. Strengthening partnerships between Vietnamese and foreign general education establishments through twinning models is also a focus, toward mutual recognition of degrees and training processes.

It also seeks to increase student and lecturer exchanges while attracting international scholars and students to teach, study and conduct research in Vietnam.

To further elevate Vietnam's academic standing, universities are encouraged to upgrade domestic scientific journals up to international standards and increase the rate of lecturers publishing in reputable global academic journals.

The country will increase the scale of overseas training funded by the state budget, focusing on faculty members in priority scientific fields critical to the national development; as well as encourage studies and scientific research abroad through non-state funding sources./.