Introduction

  • Loan No: 3493/3494-VIE
  • Project Name: Second Secondary Education Sector Development Program
  • Borrower: Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (GoV)
  • Executing Agency: Ministry of Education and Training
  • Implementing Agencies: Central Project Management Unit (CPMU)
  • Implementation Period: 2 March 2017 – June 2023

B. PROJECT PROFILE

SESDP II was approved for SDR 71,418,000($100 million equivalent) on 8 December 2016 by ADB. Loan Agreements were signed on 2 March 2017.The program was declared effective on 2 June 2017.

MOET is the executing agency (EA) for the program and will have responsibility for program coordination and implementation.  MOET established a program steering committee to provide guidance in policy development and overall implementation, identification of investment activities, and to monitor program achievement of outcomes.  MOET has also established a Central Program Management Unit (CPMU) on23 December 2016 to oversee the day-to-day implementation of the program. The CPMU comprises a full-time director and key technical staff.

SESDP II builds on the education reforms supported by the Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP)[1]. It introduces new features for the improvement of the quality and relevance of secondary education, for increased equitable access to for disadvantaged adolescents, and for strengthening education governance.  It aims to enhance learning outcomes and competitiveness of secondary school graduates.

The program’s outputs are: (i) quality and relevance of secondary education improved; (ii) equity of access to secondary education enhanced; and (iii) educational governance and management strengthened.

1. Output 1. Quality and Relevance of Secondary Education Improved

Sub-output 1.a The quality of secondary learning improved through the model resource secondary schools.

The quality of secondary learning will be improved through the introduction of a new autonomous school model that will promote the acquisition of desired student competencies.One of the strategies that MOET is using to bring about fundamental and comprehensive reforms is the development of an innovative model resource secondary school. The model is intended to fundamentally change teacher behaviors so students can acquire the desired competencies of the new curriculum.

Sub-output 1.b Sustainable provision of high-quality secondary teachers ensured. This sub-output will support the implementation of assessments of the revised teacher and principal professional standards. Implementing these new standards will require human capacity development for both teachers and the educational managers who will be tasked with assessing teachers’ productivity. Therefore, training using both e-training and face-to-face training methods will be provided to 5,000 educational stakeholders over a five-year period. Initially, about 50% of the participants will be involved in professional development over a two-year period, so that they will have an opportunity to first learn about, then actually apply, techniques for rubrics, model portfolios, examples of feedback by supervisors, and norming exercises for supervisors in their own schools and provinces.

Sub-output 1.c Quality of science and technology education in secondary schools enhanced. A Science, Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) program will be introduced into USSs to increase the number of USE graduates entering either post-secondary education or careers related to science and technology.[2]Through this new focus, the government intends to build a solid foundation for technological advances in its economy. The new models of specialized secondary schools will focus on an integrated curriculum that highlights the practical application of science, mathematics, and technology.

Sub-output 1.d Vocational awareness and career planning for secondary students enhanced. One important step needed to help female and male students match their interests and abilities is the design or adaptation of a web-based program to assess secondary student interest and aptitude related to future vocational careers. This assessment will be used as the nationwide platform for career and vocational planning that is tailored to individual students. On this basis, vocational awareness and career planning programs will be developed for approximately 71,000 students from 63 US schools. Training and support will be provided over four years to about 7,800 teachers, educational managers, and local community stakeholders. Topics will include methods to improve vocational awareness, career planning for students, career selection that suits the capability of each student by teaching of subjects, thematic learning based on new general education, forums on career orientation, and trips to local vocational establishments. The project loan will also provide equipment to model schools so that other educators in the regions can visit these schools to see how to best institute vocational and career awareness programming. Materials developed in this sub-output will be digitized and uploaded to the website.

2. Output 2. Equity of Access to Secondary Education Enhanced

Sub-output 2.a Access of disadvantaged domestic migrants to LSE enhanced. To date, there are no specific baseline data on the total number of female and male domestic migrant youth. The initial activity under this output will be to conduct a survey on the education situation of migrant youth in disadvantaged urban areas within the industrial zones in six large provinces/cities. The purpose of the survey is to generate baseline data for a socio-economic situation analysis of the domestic migrant youth to determine the sex and numbers in this group; their ethnicity, age, home provinces, reasons for migrating to cities/urban areas, education level and/or reasons for dropping out from school; economic activities of households of female and male domestic migrant youth, their living conditions and plans (including their perception of enrolling in LSE), and constraints and opportunities for each sex, and other relevant information. After the initial survey, instructional materials will be developed for staff of the provincial Departments of Education and Training (DOETs) and the district Bureaus of Education and Training (BOET), as well as LSS principals so they can conduct similar surveys to identify migrant youth not currently in the educational system and then design systems to encourage enrolment in appropriate educational programs. These methods and tools will be shared with 600 DOET and BOET staff and LSS principals through workshops in two geographic regions where the domestic migrant issue is most acute.

Sub-output 2.b Equity of access to LSE for youth with disability improved.

Project loan resources will be used to: (i) develop materials to encourage youth with special needs to attend LSSs; (ii) provide professional development for 630 people to use the these materials to foster a more equitable enrolment of youth with special needs; (iii) develop specialized and adaptive learning materials for disabled students for the six general education subjects in the new curriculum for four LSS grade levels (6,7,8,and 9); (iv) provide training focused on using the new adaptive materials to 4,000 teachers and education managers over four years in different regions of Viet Nam; and (v) provide equipment to 28 disabled student education supporting institutions. To extend the impact of this sub-output, the materials described above, along with additional videos on sample lessons, will be uploaded to website.

3. Output 3. Educational Governance and Management Strengthened

Sub-output 3.a Capacity in mobilizing social resources for secondary education to meet the requirements of decentralized education management strengthened.

To gather information for a public expenditure and budget review, a study will be conducted to assess the mobilization and use of public resources in education and training at various levels within the secondary school sector. To disseminate the findings of this study, a two-day workshop on the decentralization of education management will be held for 945 educational managers from all 63 provinces. Other activities to increase autonomy will be undertaken as part of Output 1a related to the development of the model resource secondary schools.

Sub-output 3.b Accountability of secondary education quality strengthened.

The project will continue to support financing PISA for 2018 and 2021 and expand support for international assessments to include TALIS. TALIS is a survey ofteaching and learning conditions in20 schools nationwide (20 teachers ineach school and the principal), which will provide MOET with valuable data on teaching conditions in Viet Nam compared to other countries. Support for PISA and TALIS will include OECD required fees, support for teacher training,and support for OECD required meetings. Equipment for the TALIS office will also be provided. The accountability framework will involve scaling up of the NAM so that it can be administered annually to schools involved in the initial implementation of the model resource secondary schools and STEM. Reports will need to be provided within three months, which will mean that the processes for development of assessment and reporting of results will need to be streamlined. Currently, there are not enoughtrained accreditors to meet the need for the external assessment of schools. Support will include training for about 3,000 potential accreditors for school accreditation.

4. Project Management Activities

The project will provide advisory support and capacity development for the effective and transparent achievement of the program outputs.

Program implementation and monitoring capacity strengthened. The project will support program-specific monitoring and assessment of results based on the performance indicators in the program DMF. Related training programs will also be provided to the central program management unit (CPMU). The project will support three national workshops (Inception, Midterm Review, and Final). In addition, the project will provide external audit services covering the full period of project loan implementation.

Provision of implementation support. The project will provide equipment and furniture for CPMU operation. The project will also provide international and national consultants to help MOET and other related agencies in implementing a timely and high-quality program.

[1]Asian Development Bank (ADB). 2009. Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors: Proosed Loans to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for the Secondary Education Sector Development Program. Manila (Loans 2582 and 2583-VIE, approved on 25 November). The program completed on 20 April 2016.

[2]Details regarding STEM are available in the PPTA prepared paper,Ideas re Science and Technology Education at Secondary Level (August 2015), Ha Noi.