School flying the flag in education approach

More new international schools have been established in Vietnam and the concern is that most are backed by domestic investors. What does this trend mean?

Mr Le Phuoc Hung

The benefit of having Vietnamese invest in the international institutions is that we understand the demand of the parents and the needs of our students. Our programme consists of dual languages, we need to provide the Vietnamese culture and values to our students. 

Full 100 per cent international schools may not be able to support the students in terms of developing their Vietnamese identity. Furthermore, this demonstrates that our society is sophisticated and confident to be able to do this on our own without “depending” on others in terms of educating our own children.  We know what we want, and we know how to do it and so it is logical that we act upon this belief.

Although the Vietnamese government wants to encourage all economic sectors to invest in the country’s education and training sector, private investors claim they have not been given a really level-playing field. Is it true?

The government is treating  private schools the same way as they are treating public schools. But, there is an exception that  private schools are not being subsidised by the government. However, private school teachers are being given the same training courses by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) as public school teachers.

There are also tax-breaks for private schools. In order to make the entire system more equitable, I think that there should be two distinct guidelines, one for public schools and the other for private ones due to the fact that the management aspects are different from private institutions versus public institutions.

It is common to see that private schools are trying to maximise enrollments to quickly cover their investment. How will you balance the quality and the investment returns of your school?

There will always be a balancing act between quality and quantity. Education is a long term investment.  We have parents who are committed to us from kindergarten to 12th grade. Therefore, we always remain faithful to the quality of our programme.  When we educate these students “we are preparing for life”. Therefore, we do it with great deal of care, careful planning, and intensive development with each of our students. 

As our students graduate from Olympia, we would like for them to enroll in the finest universities throughout the world. Thus, we do our utmost best to prepare them for their livelihoods. Education is too important for this country not to take it seriously.  We hire the best teachers that we possibly can from the domestic and the international fronts to make the quality of our academic programme that truly reflects the mission and the vision of Olympia. 

You mean a learner-centred methodology will differentiate your school from others?

Absolutely, yes. Our Vietnamese programme follows the MoET’s academic curriculum to ensure that standard and smooth transitions are achieved between different levels of the Vietnamese educational system.

Besides, our international programme including English as a second language is to develop students’ English vocabulary and help them use logical thinking while studying different subjects in English.

Our positive teaching-learning methodology creates a friendly, active study environment that helps students develop to the highest potential. We also aim to provide efficient study skills for the students while our students play an active role in studying, researching, group discussions and making presentation.

What specific role should the Vietnamese government take to ensure both the quality of private schools and private investors’ benefits?

The government should assist in setting up an “independent” regulatory agency to ensure high quality educational programming for public and private schools.  Every institution should go through an “accreditation process” every three to five years. The independent panel will make specific recommendations to the institutions to help shape their academic programming.