Under Plan No. 203/KH-SGDĐT signed on November 3, 2021, of Yen Bai Province’s Department of Education and Training on the pilot implementation of English and computer skills training according to international standards for public officials, servants, teachers, and high school students for the school year 2021-2022, Yen Bai Department of Education and Training coordinated with IIG Vietnam to organize a conference on establishing the detailed roadmap for successful plan implementation on November 12, 2021. 

Present at the conference were Mr. Vuong Van Bang – Director of Yen Bai Department of Education and Training; Mr. Dao Anh Tuan – Deputy Director of Yen Bai Department of Education and Training; heads of divisions under the Department of Education and Training; City, District, Town Bureaus of Education and Training; school boards of 25 elementary, junior and senior high schools in Yen Bai province that were selected to participate in the plan. From IIG Vietnam, there was the presence of Mr. Doan Hong Nam, President, IIG Vietnam; Ms. Doan Nguyen Van Khanh – Deputy General Director, IIG Vietnam and heads of related departments. The conference was also attended by representatives of BigBen Education Development and Investment Co., Ltd. – IIG’s partner to execute the cooperation activities in Yen Bai.

At the conference, leaders of the two sides discussed the pilot implementation of English training according to international standards for students at all general education levels in Yen Bai. IIG Vietnam proposed the adoption of the integrated English Discoveries (ED) online English program that aligns with the content of the mainstream English textbook at a number of pilot junior and senior high schools in the province. The program is expected to help learners to improve all 4 skills of English languages – listening, speaking, reading, writing, as well as grammar and vocabulary, to provide them more opportunities to practice English and to enable them to achieve CEFR A2 at the junior high level, and B1 at the senior high level, equivalent to level 2 and level 3 of the Vietnamese Foreign Language Competency Framework, in terms of both knowledge and skills. This is also to attain the common goal that is specified in the National Foreign Language Project.

Regarding computer skills, the pilot IC3 Spark, IC3, and MOS -oriented programs will be implemented at all three levels of general education. Students at the selected schools will have access to high-quality, world-class training content and programs. At the end of each school year, students will be required to take the international assessments and have the opportunity to gain a globally-recognized certificate of computer skills.

At the conference, Mr. Dao Anh Tuan – Deputy Director of Yen Bai Department of Education and Training emphasized: “Speaking of training capacity, we start quite low in comparison to other cities. However, if we feel left behind and do nothing about it, we’re never going to catch up. The pilot project at 25 selected schools will be our starting point in the journey of English and computer skills standardization. Among the solutions proposed to Yen Bai Department of Education and Training, IIG Vietnam’s is the most suitable and we are looking forward to the potentials this cooperation may offer.”

With the right strategy and consistent execution, Yen Bai Department of Education and Training hopes to see a major improvement in the English proficiency and digital literacy of the teachers and students. Students will, as a result, be equipped with essential skills which obviously will benefit their future education and career.