Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training Pham Hong Thang: Determined to ensure success in the first academic year after provincial merger

On September 5, the whole country will organize the opening day of the new 2025-2026 academic year. This is the first academic year after the merger of the two former provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc into the new Dong Nai province.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training Pham Hong Thang.

In this new academic year, Dong Nai has over 1.2 million students, and in particular, the province has 8 border communes that need investment in school construction in accordance with Notice No. 81-TB/TW, the conclusion of the Politburo on the policy of investing in school construction for border communes.

On this occasion, Pham Hong Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training (DOET), was engaged in a discussion with reporters from Dong Nai Newspaper and Radio, Television about the preparations for the new academic year.

What is special about the new academic year 2025-2026 for the Dong Nai DOET?

- The 2025-2026 academic year is the first academic year after the provincial merger. Therefore, the DOET has received very close attention and guidance from the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee. The sector has determined that the new academic year will continue to effectively implement Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW dated November 4, 2013, of the Central Executive Committee of the Party on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, meeting the requirements of industrialization and modernization in the context of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration. In addition, it is very important to continue to successfully implement the 2018 General Education Program.

The sector will continue to strengthen career orientation and effective, practical streaming of students after secondary school. It will focus on building a school culture and a truly clean and healthy pedagogical environment.

To achieve sustainable educational quality, the province’s education and training sector will continue to focus on building and developing a pool of teachers and educational administrators sufficient in quantity and strong in quality, meeting the requirements of innovation, and at the same time reviewing and arranging the school network appropriately. The sector will accelerate infrastructure investment, build national standard schools, and ensure the best conditions for teaching and learning.

One of the requirements for the education sector and the teaching staff is to promote comprehensive innovation in educational methods. How will the sector implement this task in the new academic year, Sir?

- Innovating teaching and learning methods in a learner-centered approach is a very important requirement for the province’s education and training sector, from which the quality of teaching and learning and the quality of human resources can be improved sustainably. In a bid to renew teaching and learning methods, the sector has determined that it must innovate from the teaching staff itself, invest strongly in the school system associated with the current trend of comprehensive and practical digital transformation in education. The sector will maximize the effectiveness of the sector's database, management softwares, and digital learning resources; as well as equip both teachers and students with digital skills, turning technology into a powerful tool to innovate teaching and learning methods and improve educational quality.

This is the second academic year that the 2018 General Education Program has covered from grade 1 to grade 12. What orientations and guidance will the sector have to further improve the quality of implementing this program?

- To continue implementing the 2018 General Education Program with high efficiency, it is essential to strengthen the innovation of teaching methods. In the past, along with arranging the school system and teaching staff, the education and training sector has organized many training courses and in-depth professional development sessions for each subject and each level; at the same time, implemented regular training modules to help teachers grasp new teaching and assessment concepts and methods.

Entering this academic year, the department will pay special attention to teacher training with some key orientations.

The new academic year 2025-2026 is the first school year after the provincial merger, and also the first year of implementing the Resolution of the Provincial Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term, and also the first year of implementing the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council on socio-economic development for 5 years (2026-2030), the Department of Education and Training of Dong Nai province has set the theme for the 2025-2026 school year as "Discipline - Creativity - Breakthrough - Development", determined to successfully implement the tasks of the school year.

Could you share more specifically what these key orientations are?

- The key issues we have identified to further enhance the effectiveness of the 2018 General Education Program are: Maintaining regular, continuous, on-site training, linked to the practical needs of each teacher and each educational institution; organizing specialized training classes, focusing on innovating teaching methods to develop students' competence and qualities. The sector will also focus on innovating assessment and evaluation in the direction of competency development; applying digital technology in teaching. It will also enhance the role of professional activities at professional groups and clusters of schools, considering this the most regular and practical training channel for teachers. The sector will collaborate with pedagogical universities and experts to support and provide professional advice, and timely update new issues.

Hoang Thi Ngoc, Principal of Nguyen An Ninh Primary School (Tam Hiep Ward), meets with first graders on the back-to-school day.

Given the increasingly rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation in various fields, the education and training sector is no exception. So, what does the Dong Nai education and training sector need to do to keep up with this general trend?

- To effectively implement AI applications and strong digital transformation in the sector, this new school year, the Department of Education and Training sector will continue to deploy several solutions. Specifically, enhancing digital awareness and skills through training for teachers and administrators on using digital platforms and applying AI to support teaching will be implemented. Another task include training students in digital citizenship skills by guiding them on safe internet use, how to search and filter information, and protect personal data.

The sector will also continue to improve technology infrastructure through equipping smart teaching devices (tablets, interactive whiteboards, etc.); at the same time, coordinating with relevant sectors to build and integrate AI functions into school management software, as well as having solutions to ensure the safety and security of students' and teachers' personal data. It will provide a reward mechanism for teachers and students who are creative in applying digital technology and AI.

Recently, the Politburo has issued Notice No. 81-TB/TW on investing in school construction for border communes. The requirement for provinces and cities to implement this is very urgent, so could you tell us how far the Dong Nai Department of Education and Training has progressed?

- Under the leadership and direction of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Education and Training, in coordination with other departments, sectors, and localities, reviewed the system of 30 schools in 8 border communes; and at the same time, developed a Project for Comprehensive Development of Teaching and Learning Quality in border communes in Dong Nai province to solicit opinions from relevant localities and departments. Through the review in 8 border communes, 29 schools registered to build boarding facilities and 1 school has already organized boarding facilities through socialization mode.

In the 2025-2026 school year, the scale of the Dong Nai Department of Education and Training will also be larger in all aspects. So, what difficulties does the sector face and how will they be resolved?

- After the merger, the Department of Education and Training of the new Dong Nai province has many advantages, but also grapples with considerable difficulties. For example, in preschool education, the application of information technology in teaching and the digital literacy of some teachers are still limited, especially in remote and isolated schools. The network of schools and classes is uneven among localities, with some remote, isolated communes and rapidly developing, densely populated areas now under pressure on student mobilization and class sizes exceeding regulations.

For general education, in some urban areas with many industrial zones, their large mechanical population increases has put them under pressure on student numbers and the need for schools, resulting in a shortage of teachers, classrooms, and subject rooms, especially at the primary level. Facilities and teaching equipment for implementing curriculum reform are still quite lacking, especially schools in remote areas and areas with ethnic minority populations. Many primary schools lack sufficient classrooms for organizing two-session teaching, and some schools have small classrooms, with enough desks and chairs for cultural subjects, but not enough or suitable for group-based teaching or practical lessons.

Given these difficulties, the Department of Education and Training will continue to conduct a comprehensive review and advise the province to continue investing strongly, gradually overcoming challenges to improve the overall quality of education in conjunction with the quality of human resources.

Thank you, Sir!

By: Cong Nghia

Translated by: Mai Nga – Thu Ha