Accreditation of schools in Vietnam: achievements, challenges and lessons learnt

The educational systems in the world have witnessed many mechanisms and models for quality assurance and enhancement of education. The most well-known approaches, however, are accreditation, assessment, and audit. With the adoption of a mandatory accreditation policy for all schools in the national education system, Vietnam has gained certain results in assuring and improving the quality of education. This paper points out an overall picture of accreditation in Vietnam since its establishment. Specifically, it first outlines Vietnam’s national educational system, followed by a summary of the development of Vietnam’s accreditation. Next, discussions of the accreditation concepts, procedures, and standards are provided. In addition, this study highlights the achievements and challenges of this accreditation mechanism. Lastly, lessons from the establishment and development of Vietnam’s school accreditation system are drawn. This study looks at the policy and practice of accreditation implementation in Vietnam. It is also expected to be beneficial for other countries in the region