High School life in Vietnam (ep.1)

Wanna know a bit about school life in Vietnam? But there is too few sources or sharings on the internet about this... Let me help 'cause I am an authentic Vietnamese highschooler. 

        Hi there, it has been a long time since I last wrote an entry on this blog (maybe since 6 months ago   OMG). But recently, when I looked up "high school life in Vietnam" on Google or Youtube, I realized that we have so little information on this. That is why I decided to start this series to 1.Share with you guys foreign friends who are interested in knowing a bit about our student life (but can't find a single website or post about it), and 2.Document my high school so that I can come back in the future. So let's dive right in!

        In this Episode 1, I will introduce you to:

            1. Types of high schools in VN

            2. Our curriculum/syllabus in VN public high school

            3. A typical day in my life as a highschooler

1. Types of high schools in Vietnam

        There are 3 main types of schools in VN: public schools, private schools and international schools. As for private schools and international ones, they have a separate operation and admissions system from the mainstream one and from each other, so I won't go into details about that. 

        As for public schools we have 3 subtypes: high schools, and specialized high schools. After graduating from secondary schools, all students wishing to continue studying in public high schools have to sit the High School Entrance Examination, which is known (and for real) to be even more competitive than Uni Entrance Exam. Each city/province has their own Exam, yet the majority usually held in Early June for 9th graders and mainly consisting of 3 tests on Math, Literature and 1st Foreign Language (mainly English). You will use the total score out of 30 to apply to your expecting High schools. The more reputable the schools, the higher your score must be. So yeah, this Exam is for real a high-stakes and stressful one.

        Besides, if you wanna go a level higher - Specialized High schools (in VN we call them High schools for the Gifted, idk why 'cause it's not so true), you have to sit one more test on the Major you would like to pursue in 3-year high school journey. And I am studying in a school like this, my Major is English language (but I don't think I'm gifted, I was just luckyyy to manage to get in). 

        So yeah that's the overview of high schools types in our country.

2. Our curriculum/syllabus in VN public high school

        Our educational system, I would say, is yet to be as progressive and modern as those in developed countries as we still place a hugeeeee emphasis on theory learning, which is a carryover from the previous Industrialization Era. But there are still some improvements that I feel grateful compared to my sister's high school years.

        First, it would be about the subjects. When my sister studied in high school, they had to learn all 13-14 subjects (from math, lit, eng, chem, physics, bio,... to ethics, history, geography, PE,...). But now, we can choose what to learn. There are still 6 compulsory subjects including: math, literature, 1st foreign lang, history, PE, citizen education (in this class we will learn about army-style queuing, signals, marching, throwing hand grenades?, and stuffs like that). And you have to choose 4 more from the list: chemistry, biology, physics, geography, laws and economics, music, drawing, IT, engineering (learn about electricity circuits, household appliances, 3D modelling,...). Usually, you will have to stick to your choice for all 3 years, but you can still change at the end of each school year to another one if you want to. 

        Second, it would be about the textbooks. In the past, up until 2023ish, we still used one set of textbook only in the whole country (sounds crazy and unfamiliar right). But now we have 3 sets, and each school can choose whatever they find suitable. (Buttt there is a proposition saying that we should revert to the old way, and the MOET is considering that:((()

        Also, as in Specialized high schools, we will have extra lessons on our major subjects (around ten 45-minute periods per week) to learn more intensively on that subject.

3. A typical day in my life as a highschooler

        Usually, my school starts at half past 7 (except for Monday, which is 7am as we have to hold weekly ational-anthem-singing and school announcements sessions), meaning checking in at 7.25, so I usually wake up at half past 6ish. Our school is strict on punctuality, they have even installed electronic face attendance scan, deducting your behavior points even if you're just 1 minute late:>> We have two 45-minute periods, then 20 minutes of morning break, followed by another 2 periods. Then we will have lunch break, eating in the canteen, or bringing our own lunch box, or going eat out near the school. Some students, like me, will take a 30-minute nap in school semi-boarding rooms, which is much-needed for me as I can't bear the heat of noon in VN:__( In the afternoon,  starting at 1pm, another lap of 4 periods with a break in the middle. And we are off at around 4.30 pm.

        This is just an overview of the time. Actually, each student has their own timetable fitted to their chosen subjects, available teachers. Anyways, I have around 32 periods per week. 

        But it doesn't end there. Extra classes are typical in VN, especially those on maths, and natural science subjects. So it depends, we may end our study day at 4.30 or 7.00 or maybe 10.00 in the evening:) 

        All in all, that's an overview of high school life in VN. I will write more on this topic if I have any ideas. Please if you have any questions on this or any recommendations on this topic, please feel free to comment below. I would be soooo gratefull and happy as I wanna share more and more about my country and school life with y'all.