What is the biggest problem of the Vietnamese education system?

What is the problem with education in Vietnam?

Exams reign. Holistic learning suffers. Pressure? Exists. So what?

• Rote memorization > Understanding. My sister failed calculus. Point proven.

• Anxiety is a feature, not a bug. The system grinds. Few escape.

• Creativity? A luxury. Conform or fail. My art degree? Useless here.

• Emphasis on standardized testing leads to narrow curriculum and neglected subjects.

• Teacher salaries are low, impacting quality. My aunt teaches. She's tired.

• Corruption, of course. It's everywhere, isn't it?

• Limited resources outside major cities. Obvious.

Vietnamese education prizes results. What else is new?

• Inequality. Rich kids get tutors. The system perpetuates.

What is the biggest problem in education today?

The weight of the world, pressing down. A suffocating blanket of apathy. It's not the harvest, not the market's ebb and flow. It’s something far deeper, a sickness in the heart of learning. Classroom violence. The echoes of shouting, the fear clinging to the air like dust. Children, shadows of their potential, trembling. This isn't just fists, it's the erosion of trust, a chilling absence of safety. My niece, Lily, ten years old, last year, she couldn’t focus. Couldn't learn. Because of it.

The subtle violence. The whispers, the pointed stares. It poisons everything. Bullying, insidious and cruel, a cancer that metastasizes through the school halls. The feeling of dread, a cold knot in my stomach, remembering my own experiences. It's a theft. Stealing joy, stealing futures. A slow, agonizing death of hope. A broken system letting these children down. A failure of compassion.

And then, looming larger than any classroom brawl, climate change. The terrifying uncertainty. What future? Will there be one? It's not abstract; it's the drought that withers crops, the floods that displace families. It's the ever present anxiety of what will be lost. My son, Sam, worries about the bees dying. He’s seven. He understands too much. It crushes him. It crushes us all.

These are not separate problems; they are intertwined, threads in a tapestry of despair. The fear, the uncertainty, the violence... it all bleeds into the educational landscape. The education itself becomes a battle for survival, not a pursuit of knowledge. It’s heartbreaking. It has to stop. We can't just accept this. It is unacceptable. We must act. Now.

• Classroom violence & bullying: Immediate threat to physical and emotional safety. Direct impact on learning and well-being.
• Climate anxiety: Overwhelming fear for the future, impacting focus and mental health. Global issue requiring urgent systemic change.
• Systemic failures: Lack of adequate support and resources for students and educators. Inadequate response to violence and mental health crises. A lack of holistic education. I feel this profoundly.

How good is Vietnams education system?

It's late. Vietnam. Education. The World Bank data haunts me somehow.

They say Vietnamese students, they do better than others, even in richer places. Places like Britain, Canada. It's weird.

Better scores, but at what cost? Do these tests actually mean anything?

I remember my cousin, she studied so hard. So, so hard. All the time.

• Endless tutoring, so expensive.
• Pressure from her parents, relentless.
• Her childhood gone.

I wonder if she's truly happy now. Or just another number, another data point in someone's report. This comparison, it feels wrong somehow.

It's a system, that’s it. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. I don’t know.

I just hope, I hope things get better. Not just scores, but lives, too.

What is the inequality of education in Vietnam?

Okay, so, inequality in education in Vietnam? Yeah, I saw it firsthand.

I volunteered teaching English in a village near Sapa back in 2023. The kids were bright!

But… so many dropped out.

It hit me hard visiting a student's home. Little Mai (about 12) lived with her grandma in a tiny shack, leaky roof and all.

Her parents were hours away, working on a rice farm. I talked to her grandma.

• She wanted Mai to study.
• But… they needed her to help at home.
• And money? Seriously tight.

Forget fancy textbooks. Even notebooks were a struggle. It's totally unfair.

Back in Hanoi, I saw rich kids with iPads in language centers. Total contrast.

This year, 2024, the stats are probably similar. The rich get richer, educationally speaking.

• Poorest 20%: Barely any make it through high school. Maybe 20% are still enrolled at 19.
• Richest 20%: Swimming in opportunities. Like, 80% complete high school or go to university.

It's infuriating. No joke.

How long is the average schooling in Vietnam?

Okay, so, like, in Vietnam?

The average schooling is, uh, 9.6 years in 2024.

It was, like, nine before, I think? I read this from General Statistics Office, real.

• Increased from 9 years.
• Reported in 2024.
• General Statistics Office said so.

My cousin, she went to school for, like, all 12 years. It's crazy, right? But she's super smart now, so yeah, I guess it works. Wish I had gone to high school. My bad!

How many years is college in Vietnam?

Okay, so college, or like getting your bachelor's degree in Vietnam, it's a bit, um, well it depends.

Like, most degrees, I think it's four years. But hold on.

Here's the deal:

• Medical or dental? Oh man, buckle up, that's a six-year commitment. It's serious!
• Industrial engineering? Five years, so its a bit longer.
• But, uh, Social Sciences and stuff, that's usually the standard four years, ya know? Like my cousin Thuy... her degree was only 4 years.

So basically, it's not one size fits all, y'see. It's important you check with the specific program.

How old is 11th grade in Vietnam?

Ugh, Vietnam? Eleventh grade? 16. I swear I was sixteen.

It was at Phan Boi Chau high school in Hue. Fall 2012, maybe? Nah, wait, it HAS to be 2013. Time flies, right? Yeah, 2013.

• Grade 11 = 16 years old.

I remember feeling so...done with school back then. Like, ready to just pack it ALL in and go travel. Seriously, who likes trigonometry at sixteen? NO ONE, that's who.

• Vietnamese education system: Structured. Very.
• High school years: Crucial for university entrance exams. Pressure city.
• Extracurricular activities: Encouraged, but academics always came first.
• School uniforms: White ao dai for girls. So hot, so impractical.
• Teachers: Either super dedicated or totally burned out. No in-between.

My best friend, Linh, she was sixteen too. We'd sneak off to the Perfume River after class. Grab some banh mi, whine about boys. Good times. Now she’s a DOCTOR! Crazy!

I still remember the feel of the hot sun on my skin, the taste of the sweet iced tea. It feels like a lifetime ago. 16 feels like forever ago. Sigh.

What time do schools finish in Vietnam?

School's out. When? Differs.

Morning starts brutal. 6 AM wake-up.

Endings? Complex.

• Primary school: Noon-ish.
• Secondary school: Late afternoon, 4 PM. Could stretch.
• High school: Later. 5 PM or beyond. Evening classes are a thing. Extra help.

Afternoon sessions common. Not always mandatory. Depends on grades. Depends on money.

My niece, Thao. Finishes 4:30. Piano after. Relentless. What a life.

Weekends exist. Sometimes.

What day does school start in Vietnam?

Ah, Vietnam's school bells! So, everyone thinks it’s September 5th. It’s practically tradition, like arguing over phở recipes.

But, oh, some eager beavers (or parents, let’s be real) sneak back earlier. Think of them as the kids who always finished their homework the day it was assigned. Annoying.

And when does the sweet torture cease? Around the third week of May. Freedom! Time to perfect that scooter-riding tan. That's longer than my last relationship, which, let’s just say, ended sooner rather than later!

Here's the lowdown, more or less:

• Official Start: September 5th. Mark it on your calendar, people!

• Early Birds: Always a few starting before. Showoffs, I say! No, it's probably the parents.

• Sweet Release: Mid-May. Hello, beaches!

• The Phở Factor: Vietnamese education, like good phở, is serious business. No really, it is.

• My Take: Don't expect punctuality. It's Vietnam, after all, where time is more of a suggestion than a commandment, haha.

What is school life like in Vietnam?

Okay, so school in Vietnam... It's kinda... intense, I guess?

I went to Le Hong Phong High School in Ho Chi Minh City, like, years ago, 2018 I think? It was hardcore. Prep for university entry was a huge deal, absolutely everything.

Remember those tiny desks? Cramped classrooms. Yikes.

• Primary (5 years)
• Secondary (4 years)
• High school (3 years)

We wore these white ao dai things, pretty but a pain to keep clean!

Like, the pressure to perform well was insane. My mom was always on my back about grades, sheesh. I dreaded Mondays after report card day!

We studied everything. Math, literature, history, you name it. It's all about general knowledge, they hammered that into us, plus making good people, haha! Developing "talent", they called it. Yeah, right.

Tests were EVERYWHERE. Constant evaluations. It felt never-ending! And the competition! Forget about it. I hated history the most.

Daily attendance is basically mandatory. Showing up was half the battle! Though, sometimes I skipped class to get banh mi near school. Don't tell anyone.

I got detention once for… uh… being late? Something like that. It’s all a blur.

I think I got the highest score in literature. Oh and there was the time the teacher caught us playing cards during break! So funny!