In the "Letter to the Education sector on the occasion of the opening of the new school year 2026-2027", General Secretary and President To Lam set out the requirement: Each school must be a place where learners are respected, listened to, encouraged to self-study and practice skills; a place where talents are discovered, supported and students in difficult circumstances are not left behind. Achievements must be linked to the actual progress of each student.
This message suggests a more comprehensive view of the goals of education in the new school year. The school is not only responsible for imparting knowledge, organizing exams and confirming results with scores. The more important goal is to help each student grow in terms of intellect, personality, skills and bravery.
In reality, scores are still very necessary to assess part of a person's academic performance but cannot fully reflect the capacity and qualities of a person.
A high-scoring student may not necessarily have the ability to work independently, cooperate with others, or behave responsibly. Conversely, a student with not outstanding academic results may still possess creativity, special talents, willpower, and valuable qualities.
Therefore, if schools and families only focus on scores, students are very easily caught up in the achievement race. They study to pass the exam, to stand in a high position in the class, but may lack opportunities to train their problem-solving ability, adapt to changes and apply knowledge to life.
Comprehensive education requires changes from each lesson. Teachers not only convey available answers but also need to guide students to ask questions, self-search for information, analyze and defend their views.
Inspection and evaluation must also recognize progress, practical capacity, spirit of cooperation and sense of responsibility, instead of just relying on memory ability.
In the context of rapidly developing science, technology and artificial intelligence, this requirement becomes increasingly urgent. Knowledge can change soon and many jobs can be supported or replaced by machines, but independent thinking, honesty, creativity, sense of responsibility and how people treat each other are still sustainable values.
To achieve that goal, it is necessary to give more initiative to schools and teachers, and at the same time reduce administrative pressure, records and formal achievements. Teachers must have enough time, conditions and mindset to observe and discover the individual abilities of each student, instead of forcing them to follow the same mold.
A successful school year is not only reflected in the number of excellent students, awards or passing rates, but must also be measured by the maturity of each student. Academic achievements must be associated with independent thinking, knowing how to take responsibility and knowing how to live decently.
The destination of education is not in beautiful transcripts to report achievements but also in the maturity of each learner in terms of knowledge, personality, bravery and responsibility to the community and the country.
