Bilingual education in Viet Nam

Viet Nam has made overall progress in basic education. Net enrolment rates for primary and second level are 95.5 per cent and 86.2 per cent, respectively (2009 Census). Between 1992 and 2008, primary level completion rates rose from 45.0 per cent to 89.8 per cent.

Despite major achievements in the education sector in Viet Nam, however disparities still remain and education attainment is much lower among several groups, particularly among ethnic minority groups. For ethnic minority children, low enrolment and completion and high drop-out and repetition rates remain a challenge. According to the Government's Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS, 2011), the primary school completion rate among ethnic minority children is significantly lower than that of Kinh and Hoa children: 79.8 per cent and 103.1 per cent, respectively. There is also inequality between different ethnic minority groups. Figure 1 shows that the primary school net attendance rate among the Mong is as low as 69.6 per cent, while the rate among the Tay is the highest of all, 93.5 per cent, followed by Kinh of 92.6 per cent (Census, 2009).

Find out more details at http://www.unicef.org/vietnam/resources_19823.html

During United Nations week, a voice for children with disabilities is heard in corridors of power

During United Nations week in New York, Vietnamese singing sensation and advocate Crystal joined forces with American icon and United Nations Messenger of Peace Stevie Wonder to push for a “world of inclusion”.

NEW YORK, United States of America, 26 September 2013 – She calls herself Crystal, because of her brittle bones, but Nguyen Phuong Anh is fast becoming known for her sparkling voice and for shattering stereotypes about disabilities.

Provincial children’s forum: Voice of children from Lao Cai province

Chau Thi Tao, 15, was attending Lao Cai’s Children’s Forum in July 2013, where she and 51 other young students voiced up for their rights to participation. They were gathering to influence the amendment of the Law on Protection, Care and Education of Children.

“I want child marriage to end. I can talk to my friends and other people in my homeland about children’s rights and how the Law protects them.” – Tao said. “Early marriage cannot help people to escape poverty. I hope policy makers will consider this issue more seriously when they amend the Law.”

Chau Thi Tao before the National Children Forum. ©  UNICEF Viet Nam\2013\Nguyen Huong Ly

Bilingual education for ethnic minority children in Viet Nam

Vang Thi Thu Ha, 9, participates in the bilingual education pilot 

Vang Thi Thu Ha, a third grader at Ban Pho Primary School in Lao Cai - a poor northern mountainous province of Viet Nam, is articulating the strengths of bilingual education and a more equitable future for the nation’s ethnic minority population.

UNICEF's Next Generation Vietnam Field Visit

From 17 till 21 June, representatives from the US Next Generation, a group of young entrepreneurs that advocate for UNICEF in the United-States, visited UNICEF projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Thap. UNICEF Next Generation United States members are influential and passionate young adults (age 18-35) who are committed to supporting UNICEF's mission to fulfill the rights of all children through the deliverance of educational and fundraising programmes. Nicole Neal, one of these visitors, has shared her diary with us.