Vietnam: What is graduation in lower secondary education? What age is eligible for graduation in lower secondary education?

What are the regulations on graduation in lower secondary education in Vietnam?

Currently, the law does not provide a definition for lower secondary education, but "lower secondary education" is used to refer to lower secondary education in Vietnam.

Under Article 33 of the Law on Education 2019 on general education institutions:

General education institutions include:

- Primary schools;

- Lower secondary schools;

- Upper secondary schools;

- Multi-level schools;

Additionally, Clause 2, Article 34 of the Law on Education 2019 stipulates the certification for completion of primary education and issuance of lower secondary diploma and upper secondary diploma as follows:

Certification for completion of primary education and issuance of lower secondary diploma and upper secondary diploma

1. Students who complete the primary education programme and meet the requirements set by the Minister of Education and Training will be certified in their official academic records by a primary school principal that they have completed primary education.

2. Students who complete the lower secondary education programme and meet the requirements set by the Minister of Education and Training will be issued with diplomas of lower secondary education by the head of an educational specialized agency under the management of a provincial People’s Committee.

3. Students who complete the upper secondary education programme and meet the requirements set by the Minister of Education and Training will be eligible to take the examination. Those who pass the examination are issued with diplomas of upper secondary education by the head of an educational specialized agency under the management of a provincial People’s Committee.

Students who complete upper secondary education and meet the requirements set by the Minister of Education and Training will be eligible to take the examination. Those who do not take the examination or fail the examination are issued with certificates by the school principal that they have completed general education.

Certificate for completion of general education is used to register for the examination for the upper secondary diploma per learners' wish or per the requirements to continue studying in vocational education and is used in specific cases as prescribed by law.

4. Students with lower secondary diplomas and studying a vocational secondary programme in institutions of vocational education, after completing the programme, are eligible to take the examination certifying the upper secondary education knowledge as prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training. Those who pass the examination are issued with certificates by the head of an educational institution teaching upper secondary cultural knowledge that they have achieved sufficient upper secondary education knowledge.

Certificate for achieving sufficient upper secondary education knowledge is used to continue studying a higher qualification of vocational education and is used in specific cases as prescribed by law.

Students who complete the lower secondary program and meet the requirements prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training shall be issued lower secondary diplomas by the head of the educational specialized agency under the district-level People's Committee.

Thus, according to these regulations, a lower secondary school refers to schools providing lower secondary education. After completing the lower secondary program and meeting the requirements prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training, students are issued lower secondary diplomas.

At this time, it is called "graduation in lower secondary education" (graduation from grade 9).

What are the regulations on graduation in lower secondary education? What age is eligible for graduation in lower secondary education in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What age is eligible for graduation in lower secondary education in Vietnam?

Under Clause 1, Article 28 of the Law on Education 2019 on educational levels and entry ages:

- Primary education lasts for 05 school years, from the first to the fifth grade. The entry age for the first grade is 06;

- Lower secondary education lasts for 04 school years, from the sixth to the ninth grade. Students must complete the primary educational programme before entering the sixth grade. The entry age for the sixth grade is 11;

- Upper secondary education lasts for 03 school years, from the tenth to the twelfth grade. Students must complete the lower secondary educational programme before entering the tenth grade. The entry age for the tenth grade is 15;

Thus, lower secondary education lasts for 04 school years, from the sixth to the ninth grade. Students must complete the primary educational programme before entering the sixth grade. The entry age for the sixth grade is 11. Therefore, after graduating from lower secondary education, these students are 14 years old.

*Note: Exceptions must be considered for students studying at an age higher than the prescribed age as stated in Clause 2, Article 28 of the Law on Education 2019.

What are the requirements on training results of lower secondary school students for grade advancement in Vietnam?

Under Article 8 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT:

Assessment of training results of students

...

2. Training results of students in each semester and in the entire school year

Training results of students in each semester and in the entire school year shall be assessed by one of 4 categories: Excellent, Good, Qualified, Unqualified.

a) Training results of students in each semester

- Excellent: Satisfy requirements for traits under formal education program excellently and display merits.

- Good: Satisfy requirements for traits under formal education program well and display merits but not enough to be placed in Excellent category.

- Qualified: Satisfy requirements for traits under formal education program.

- Unqualified: Fail to satisfy requirements for traits under formal education program.

b) Training results of students in the entire school year

- Excellent: a student is placed in Excellent category in the 2nd semester and in Good category or higher in the 1st semester.

- Good: a student is placed in Good category in the 2nd semester and Qualified category or higher in the 1st semester; or Qualified category in the 2nd semester and Good category in the 1st semester; or Good category in the 2nd semester and Qualified category or Unqualified category in the 1st semester.

- Qualified: a student is placed in Qualified category in the 2nd semester and Good, Qualified, or Unqualified category in the 1st category; or Good category in the 2nd semester and Unqualified in the 1st semester.

- Unqualified: other cases.

Article 12 of Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDDT stipulates:

 

Grade advancement, re-assessment during summer break, and grade retention

1. A student who meets following eligibility may advance to the next grade or be recognized as to have completed lower education program or upper education program:

a) Training results of the entire school year (including re-assessment results after training during summer break according to Article 13 hereof) are Qualified or higher.

b) Learning results of the entire school year (including re-assessment results of all subjects according to Article 14 hereof) is Qualified or higher.

c) Number of days leave does not exceed 45 half-days (calculated according to education plans which is 1 half-day for every day under formal education plan, including permitted leave, unpermitted leave, continuous leave, and intermittent leave).

...

Thus, according to the regulations, in order to be eligible for grade advancement, students must have their training results for the entire school year at Qualified or higher and meet other specified conditions.