The Ministry of Education and Training on August 5 released a draft training program for school students with several major changes.

Students attending a flag-rasing ceremony at a secondary school in Hanoi

The draft program, which was created by many experienced educationalists and scientists, is aimed at improving the local education system.

Basing on the new program, the 12-year formal schooling cycle will be divided into two stages - basic education and professional education. The basic education stage includes the five-year primary level and four-year secondary level, followed by a three-year professional cycle at high school.

While the traditional education program only focused on class lessons, the new program will require diversified teaching methods, which appreciate both in and out-of-class activities and encourage students to involve in social activities, creative experiences and scienfic studies.

The new program aims to provide students with eight key skill sets, including self-study, communications, and teamwork, which are considered a weakness of Vietnamese students who only focus on major subjects like math, literature or English.

One of the biggest changes in the new program is that the number of compulsory subjects will be reduced as students get to higher grades so they can spend more time on their favourite subjects.

There are eight compulsory subjects: Vietnamese, math, a second language, natural science, social science, physical training, and moral training. The number will cut to four including Vietnamese, maths, a second language and moral training in high school.

Deputy minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Vinh Hien, said the new program will help solve several shortcomings in the present system, such as syllabus overlap, and students lack of social and practical skills.

While many students and parents say they doubt the ministry's capacity to execute the program, Hien said 90-95 percent of local schools should be able to follow the new textbooks when the program is introduced in 2018.