Overview of the General Education System

Aspirations for national development, modernization, and global competitiveness molded Vietnam’s modern education system. Before the 1980s, the country’s education system was patterned after the former Soviet Union. Still, the 1986 Đổi mới economic reforms underwent sweeping changes in the system and prompted a catalyst for growth towards a new era of education. Vietnam’s current “Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2011-2020” positioned education as a critical driver for cultivating human capital and advancing industrialization.

Vietnam’s education structure is organized into five levels. It starts with pre-primary education for ages 18 months to 5 years, but is optional, while primary, Grades 1–5, and lower secondary education, Grades 6–9, cover the current span of compulsory schooling. After grade 9, students may pursue general upper secondary education in Grades 10–12 or choose vocational training. The World Bank reports that as of 2024, the educational landscape reflects significant achievements in enrollment rates. The lower secondary education enrollment stands at an impressive 95%, while upper secondary education is at 80%. Additionally, in the early 2000s, primary education maintained a net enrollment rate exceeding 98%.

In addition, most levels of education in Vietnam are under the central authority of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), which prescribes rigid curricula, admissions policies, and even textbook content. The MOE is backed by other governing bodies like the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA), which oversees vocational and technical education. The administration also recently implemented reforms that grant more autonomy to higher education institutions (HEIs), especially in curriculum design, research, and international partnerships.

The country’s educational system includes various types of institutions such as public schools, which are state-funded; private schools; international schools that offer foreign curricula; and people-founded institutions managed by local organizations. Internationalization is now a key goal. The government encourages study-abroad opportunities and supports the enrollment of international students. It also promotes partnerships with the U.S., Germany, Japan, and Australia. English is widely taught as a foreign language, and some institutions offer bilingual or entirely English-medium instruction to sustain global integration.

In Vietnam, compulsory education encompasses grades 1 through 9 and is open for children approximately aged 6 to 15. Although pre-primary education is available starting at 18 months, it is not mandatory. Primary education officially begins at the age of six and continues for five years. The curriculum emphasizes essential subjects, including Vietnamese language, mathematics, sciences, and physical education, to ensure a well-rounded foundation for students.

Meanwhile, lower secondary education continues for four years and introduces additional subjects, including civics, technology, and foreign languages. The government aims to accomplish universal lower secondary education and maintain compulsory schooling until age 15. After lower secondary, students enter upper secondary education, which is competitive and, although not compulsory, is widely pursued by many. According to recent statistics, Vietnam achieved an impressive literacy rate of 96.13% among its citizens aged 15 and older in 2022. This represents a notable increase of 0.38% compared to the rate recorded in 2019, highlighting the country’s ongoing commitment to improving educational access and literacy among its population.

Vietnam’s higher education system includes junior colleges (cao đẳng), mono-specialized and multi-disciplinary universities, and postgraduate research institutes. Degrees offered include Associate Degrees, which are taken for two to three and a half years, Bachelor’s Degrees, which are four to five years, Master’s Degrees, which are two to three years, and Doctorate degrees, which are taken for a minimum of two to four years.

Higher education increasingly operates within a competitive landscape where admission relies on the unified national examination. Since 2015, the previous dual-exam system has been streamlined into a single high school graduation exam, which also serves as the university entrance assessment. In 2022, Vietnam was home to a total of 242 universities, which included 175 public institutions and 67 private ones. The responsibility for quality assurance and accreditation of these universities lies with the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).