Happiness is being listened to
As a student of Co Loa High School (Hanoi), outside of school hours, Dao Nhat Long also participates in many clubs and school experience activities. According to Long, studying at the high school level is still associated with tests and exams, but the difference is that teachers do not create pressure for achievements. Instead, teachers always encourage students to study according to their abilities, recognize progress and point out things that need effort. That is what makes his daily school trips lighter and more joyful.
Happy School is a place where students are respected, listened to and have the opportunity to develop according to their strengths. When teachers and friends are always willing to share, learning also becomes much easier" - Long said.
As for Chu Pham Thanh Loan, the journey to the new level of education began with a little regret. Not being admitted to a public high school as desired, the female student chose to study at a private school about 12km from home.
In the early days, Loan had to wake up at 5:30 am to catch the bus to school. The initial worries and hardships gradually disappeared, because in the new school, Loan felt love, a sense of closeness, affection and being welcomed by teachers and friends.
I feel still happy when I go to school. What school I study is not as important as being able to study in a positive environment, always having people who trust and encourage me" - Loan shared.
The story of Long and Loan is not isolated cases, just two small slices in millions of students coming to school every day. Despite different circumstances, they all share a very simple wish: To study in a safe environment, to be listened to and respected by teachers, and to have the opportunity to develop according to their abilities. From these seemingly very ordinary wishes, many localities are gradually concretizing the model of a happy school with innovations in school governance and building school culture.
Change management thinking to build a happy school
To make students truly feel that every day at school is a happy day, many schools across the country are starting to take action, starting from changing management thinking.
From a management perspective, Mr. Do Duy Hung - Deputy Director of Hai Phong Department of Education and Training - said that from the 2025-2026 school year, the city will implement the "Happy School" model in secondary schools, high schools and multi-level general schools. Instead of just putting out slogans, the Department issued a set of 15 criteria with 3 groups of content on environment, teaching and people.
According to Mr. Hung, schools not only focus on building a safe and friendly learning environment but also innovate teaching methods, increase experiential activities, psychological counseling, and life skills education; taking the progress, joy of students, and satisfaction of teachers and parents as one of the effective measures.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Da Nang City - said that building a happy school is no longer an isolated campaign but has become a natural requirement in the school's operation process.
Mr. Nam affirmed that building a green - clean - beautiful environment, a culture of behavior in schools, and caring for the spiritual life of teachers and students are all regular tasks, associated with the goal of building a happy school. The important thing is not to launch more movements, but to make those values a part of the management activities of each school. The above spirit is currently being concretized in many schools in different ways.
At My Dinh High School (Hanoi), the school board determined that happiness is not the destination but a journey built from the companionship between the school, teachers, students and parents.
Van Bao Primary School (Hanoi) synchronously implements 15 criteria for a happy school, from building a safe learning environment, innovating teaching methods to strengthening psychological counseling, life skills education and promoting the abilities of each student.
In the highlands, in conditions with many difficulties in terms of facilities, 100% of educational institutions in Lao Cai province have developed plans to implement the "Happy School" set of criteria, associated with educational innovation, building school culture, preventing and combating school violence and implementing the 2018 general education program.
Mr. Luyen Huu Chung - Director of Lao Cai Department of Education and Training - assessed that after 4 years of implementation, the "Happy School" model has created a clear change in the entire sector. The goal is to build a safe and humane educational environment.
What we want is for every student to feel happy when coming to class, for every teacher to be inspired by the profession, and for every parent to have more faith in the school" - the Director of Lao Cai Department of Education and Training emphasized.
Hanoi takes student happiness as a measure of school happiness
The emulation movement to build "Happy Schools" in the 2026-2030 period of the Hanoi Education sector continues to be implemented according to the set of criteria issued by the Department of Education and Training, aiming to build a safe and humane educational environment, with students at the center. Accordingly, 100% of educational institutions will organize periodic surveys for students, teachers and staff; survey results are used to adjust management activities and serve as a basis for emulation evaluation.
Schools must also self-review and evaluate according to the "Happy School" criteria, and at the same time promote innovation in teaching methods, strengthen school psychological counseling, life skills education, digital transformation and expand experiential activities, STEM/STEAM, contributing to building a safe, humane and comprehensive learning environment for students.
