In Vietnam, how many weeks does an academic year last? Who is responsible for implementing the 2024-2025 academic year plan?

In Vietnam, how many weeks does an academic year last?

Under Part IV of the General Education Program issued along with Circular 32/2018/TT-BGDDT, the education plan is stipulated as follows:

EDUCATION PLAN

The general education program is divided into two phases: the basic education stage (from grades 1 to 9) and the career-oriented education stage (from grades 10 to 12).

The system of subjects and educational activities in the general education program includes compulsory subjects and educational activities, elective subjects according to career orientation (referred to as elective subjects), and optional subjects.

The actual study duration in one academic year is approximately 35 weeks. Educational institutions can organize teaching in 1 session/day or 2 sessions/day. Educational institutions organizing teaching in 1 session/day and 2 sessions/day must implement a unified compulsory educational content for all educational institutions nationwide.

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According to Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision 2045/QD-BGDDT 2024, specific regulations on the principles for constructing the academic year plan for localities are provided:

Principles for Constructing the academic year plan for Localities

1. The academic year plan for localities must ensure a minimum of 35 weeks of actual study (semester I includes 18 weeks, semester II includes 17 weeks).

2. The academic year plan must align with the characteristics and actual conditions of the locality.

3. Public holidays and new year breaks are implemented per the Labor Code and annual guidelines.

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Thus, according to the above regulations, the actual study duration in one academic year is approximately 35 weeks.

In Vietnam, how many weeks does an academic year last? Who is responsible for implementing the 2024-2025 academic year plan in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

Who is responsible for implementing the 2024-2025 academic year plan in Vietnam?

Under Article 3 of Decision 2045/QD-BGDDT 2024, specific regulations on responsibility for implementation are as follows:

[1] The Chairman of the People's Committee of the provinces and municipalities decides:

- The academic year plan for preschool education, general education, and continuing education suitable to the local reality.

- The starting time of the academic year and the extension of the academic year shall not exceed 15 days compared to the regulations in Article 1 of this Decision to ensure the implementation and completion of preschool, general education, and continuing education programs in cases of natural disasters or epidemics; for special emerging cases, report to the Ministry of Education and Training before implementation.

[2] The Director of the Department of Education and Training shall:

- Decide on student suspensions in cases of severe weather, and natural disasters, and arrange make-up days; ensure teacher rest periods during the academic year.

- Report to the Ministry of Education and Training

Note:

- Prepare for the new academic year and organize the opening ceremony for the 2024 - 2025 academic year before September 10, 2024;

- Summarize the status of task implementation, main solutions for the 2024 - 2025 academic year, and results of meeting competition criteria, and propose rewards for the academic year before June 25, 2025.

What are the regulations on educational programmes in Vietnam?

According to Article 8 of the Education Law 2019, specific regulations on educational programmes in Vietnam are as follows:

1. Educational programmes shall reflect the goals of education; set the standards for knowledge, skills, requirements on quality and capacity of learners; scope and structure of educational contents; methods and forms of organizing educational activities; evaluation methods of educational outcomes for each subject of every grade and level or for each subject, module, specialization of every training qualification.

2. Educational programmes must ensure the scientific and practical characteristics; inheritability and transferability among different levels and different training qualifications; facilitate the classification of students and exchange between training qualifications, specializations and educational forms in the national educational system in order for localities and educational institutions to proactively implement suitable educational plans; satisfying the goal of gender equality and demands of international integration. Educational programmes are the basis of comprehensive education quality assurance.

3. Requirements on knowledge, skills and on dignity and capacity of learners defined in educational programmes must be concretized in textbooks used for general education, in syllabi and teaching materials used for vocational education and higher education. Textbooks, syllabi and teaching materials must meet the requirements on educational methods.

4. Preschool education and general education shall run year-based programmes; vocational education and higher education may run year-based, module-based, credit-based programmes or combined programmes.

Study results of subjects or credits/modules accumulated by learners after pursuing an educational programme are considered for transferable values for respective subjects or credits/modules of other educational programmes when learners change their educational specializations/professions, forms of studies, or follow higher educational levels or qualifications.