Cambridge international curriculum halted in HCM City

Recently, the municipal Department of Education and Training announced that they would stop enrollment under the Cambridge programmes for primary and secondary schools beginning this school year. They will instead develop a new international education programme between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the British Department of Education.

This news came as a bit of a shock for parents, as the original deal was ended because EMG, a Cambridge's partner in the programmes, failed to meet education quality requirements. However, now EMG has become the department's new partner.

Le Hong Son, Director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, said that due attention should be paid on improving the quality of education, and not so much on the partner.

“EGM is a prestigious international education group. We always take into account quality when choosing partners,” Son commented.

Nguyen Phuong Lan, EMG’s Vice Chairwoman, said, “During the time of with Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), we were authorised to provide accreditations, as well as distribute and implement the Cambridge programmes in Hanoi, HCM City and many other localities across Vietnam. However, this was a short-term contract and it would not be fair to say that CIE ended cooperation because of education quality issues.”

According to Lan, CIE’s criteria were too strict in formula and did not suit Vietnamese students.

She added that EMG also intended to stop cooperation CIE in order to focus finding new partners for cooperation.

Cambridge international education programmes have been conducted in HCM City since 2010. To date, over 20 primary and secondary schools citywide teach their curriculum. The number of students has been sharply increasing despite worries about quality.