PACCOM and Vietnam Foundation Promote Digital Education in Border-Area Schools

On March 6 in Hanoi, the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee (PACCOM) and the Vietnam Foundation (United States) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for cooperation in implementing the Khan Academy Vietnam program at 248 multi-level schools located in border communes and several other localities coordinated by the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations.

At the event, Dong Huy Cuong, Vice President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, stated that many recently issued resolutions, including Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development, emphasize the goal of ensuring equitable education and human development.

According to Dong Huy Cuong, one of the major challenges today is narrowing the education gap between urban areas and disadvantaged regions, particularly mountainous, remote, and border areas. Digital learning platforms such as Khan Academy Vietnam (KAV) can create relatively equal opportunities for students in different regions to access education. If widely implemented, KAV could become a national educational ecosystem connecting teachers, students, and learning resources.

The cooperation agreement between the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee and the Vietnam Foundation is aligned with the policy outlined in Notice No. 81-TB/TW of the Politburo on investment in building schools for border communes. He expressed his hope that following the signing ceremony, both sides would effectively implement the program in border-area schools, helping students in these localities access high-quality standardized learning materials and enhance their self-learning capacity, particularly in Mathematics and Science.

Pham Duc Trung Kien, President of the Vietnam Foundation and Co-founder of the KAV Program, stated that the foundation considers supporting the 248 multi-level schools in border communes a top priority in the coming period and is committed to providing sustained attention and long-term partnership with these schools.

According to him, the program’s guiding principle is to avoid situations where newly built schools are put into operation but teachers are not yet equipped with effective teaching methods. KAV is ready to provide training for teachers from the very first weeks and to deploy the learning platform as soon as schools begin operation, thereby introducing modern technology and learning methods into schools from the outset.

Once the schools become operational, students will be able to study Mathematics and English according to international standards, through bilingual English-Vietnamese instruction, closely aligned with the 2018 General Education Curriculum. The goal is for border-area schools to become not only newly built facilities but also modern educational institutions that embrace digital education and advanced learning programs.

Do Ngoc Minh, Co-founder of the KAV Program, stated that KAV’s activities align with the orientation of international integration and contributing global knowledge. Currently, about 11,000 schools nationwide have adopted the “KAV Open School” model, with the participation of 150,000 teachers trained to use the platform in teaching. He expressed his hope to continue cooperating with the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations and the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee to implement activities in border communes in the coming period.

Source: https://vietnamtimes.thoidai.com.vn/paccom-and-vietnam-foundation-promote-digital-education-in-border-area-schools-312572.html