The Ministry of Education and Training announced a plan on 3/2 to survey the English competence of teachers in selected schools and localities. This initiative aims to identify 'weaknesses' in teachers' English proficiency, thereby informing the development of training programs. The ultimate goal is to support the policy of establishing English as a second language in schools.

Scheduled for April, the survey will assess four key skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, using tests developed by the Ministry. Each session will last no more than one session. Participating schools and localities must ensure the capacity to conduct online exams for at least 1,000 teachers simultaneously, maintaining security, safety, and fairness. Results and teacher information will remain confidential and will not be used for performance evaluation or competitive ranking.

Students at Phan Van Tri Primary School, Ho Chi Minh City, during an optional English class, 10/2025. Photo: Le Nguyen

Nationwide, there are over 1,05 million preschool and general education teachers, with approximately 30,000 teaching English. English is a core subject from grade three, while it is optional for preschool and lower grades (grades one and two). According to Government Decree 222/2025, teachers in primary and lower secondary schools must achieve level 4/6 or higher according to the Vietnamese competence framework, which is equivalent to B2 under the European framework, to teach or learn in a foreign language. For upper secondary teachers, the requirement is level 5/6, equivalent to C1.

To fully implement the goal of making English a second language in schools, the education sector estimates it needs to add 12,000 English teachers at the preschool level and 10,000 at the primary level. Additionally, it aims to train at least 200,000 teachers capable of teaching in English by 2030.

Thanh Hang