Ho Chi Minh City pilots English for preschoolers
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The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee in Vietnam will begin a three-year pilot program integrating English into public preschools.
Parents must consent to their children’s participation in the voluntary program, which aims to familiarize young children with English as part of their regular curriculum rather than as a separate subject. The city government insists the program be transparent, non-profit, and funded without using state budget money.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training will select the preschools, programs, and materials used in the pilot, and will publicly share a list of approved options. Before schools can begin, the department will collaborate with the Department of Finance to establish rules for fees and how revenue from the program will be managed, ensuring schools disclose all costs to parents. Local authorities will monitor participating schools to ensure they follow city regulations.
The Department of Education and Training will inspect schools annually and assess the program’s effectiveness, considering educational quality, suitability for young children, and parental support. After three years, the city will use the assessment results to decide how to proceed with the program, as part of a larger plan to make English a second language in schools and expose all preschool children to English by 2030.
