Chapter 46/2008/CT-BGDĐT On Strengthening the Work of Evaluation and Accreditation of Educational Quality

DIRECTIVE

Regarding the strengthening of evaluation work

and quality assurance in education

In the process of industrialization and modernization of the country, education holds a significant position in enhancing public knowledge, training human resources, nurturing talents, contributing to the establishment of a knowledge-based economy. However, education at various levels and training programs is currently facing new difficulties and challenges, particularly the issue that educational quality has not yet met the requirements for socio-economic development in the current stage. To implement the Education Law 2005 and Decree No. 75/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 2, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law, the Ministry of Education and Training is implementing reforms in educational goals, content, and methods, continuing to train and develop the teaching staff, strengthening material infrastructure, and intensifying the evaluation and quality assurance work in education at all levels and training programs with the aim of quickly achieving significant improvements in educational quality. The evaluation and quality assurance work implemented in recent years has had positive impacts on the quality of the national education system. To further promote this work, the Minister of Education and Training instructs management levels in education, units, and educational institutions to implement the following key tasks:

1. Strengthening the awareness of managers, teachers, and lecturers about evaluation and quality assurance in education; promptly building content, materials, and organizing professional training on evaluation and quality assurance in education for key cadres of state agencies responsible for education, training managers of relevant ministries and sectors, and managers of educational institutions; proactively proposing contents related to evaluation and quality assurance in education to be included in the training programs of teacher training schools and professional development programs so that each manager, teacher, and lecturer has a certain understanding of evaluation and quality assurance in education corresponding to their positions.

2. Intensifying the dissemination of information on evaluation and quality assurance in education through forums, columns in newspapers, television, and other media, popularizing knowledge and results of evaluation and quality assurance in education achieved to create conditions for society to know and participate in monitoring educational quality.

3. Strengthening the development of experts in evaluation and quality assurance in education; developing plans to develop core teams of experts in ensuring and assuring educational quality within the sector; planning training on evaluation and quality assurance in education both domestically and internationally.

Strengthening the training of cadres with Master's degrees in educational measurement and evaluation both domestically and internationally. Universities, academies, colleges, vocational colleges, and departments of education and training should plan to send cadres to study to ensure that by 2010 there will be sufficient cadres with professional qualifications to proactively implement evaluation and quality assurance work according to their unit's plan. Encouraging postgraduate students and doctoral candidates to research topics on evaluation and quality assurance in education.

4. Studying to create motivation for evaluation and quality assurance in education based on ensuring harmony between the interests of the State, schools, society, and learners, researching and proposing specific policies to support educational institutions in implementing evaluation and quality assurance activities according to the Ministry of Education and Training's plan; announcing educational institutions recognized as meeting educational quality standards; proposing specific policies to be implemented from the 2008-2009 academic year.

Building and consolidating units engaged in evaluation and quality assurance in education at universities, academies, colleges, vocational colleges, and departments of education and training; the Examination and Quality Assurance Department shall take the lead in drafting regulations on the conditions for establishment, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of independent quality assurance organizations to be submitted to competent authorities for promulgation; coordinating with units under the Ministry of Education and Training to build and enhance the capacity of at least three centers or agencies for evaluating educational quality, including one unit for evaluating general education quality during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Guiding universities, academies, and colleges to establish centers (or specialized units within specialized departments) for ensuring educational quality, implementing the construction of internal quality assurance systems within schools; guiding departments of education and training to establish, consolidate, and develop examination and educational quality management departments; coordinating with research projects to supplement components of evaluation and quality assurance in education for training human resources, building tools, and implementing evaluation and quality assurance in education at all levels and training programs.

6. Promptly implement activities for evaluating and certifying educational quality. Starting from the academic year 2008-2009, all universities, academies, colleges, and vocational schools shall conduct annual self-assessments and submit self-assessment reports to their direct supervisory authorities; improve quality based on self-assessment results; periodically register for educational quality certification; strive to have at least 80% of universities, 50% of colleges, and 30% of vocational schools certified by 2010. Combine institutional education certification with program education certification. Integrate institutional education certification with broad-based evaluations of educational institutions for comparison and cross-referencing from various perspectives. Implement the collection of feedback from graduates and employers to gain additional information about the teaching and learning quality of the institution, and based on this, take measures to improve and enhance educational quality.

Implement activities for evaluating secondary education quality. During the academic year 2008-2009, each Department of Education and Training shall conduct evaluations of approximately 2.5% of primary, middle, and high schools (on average, each department evaluates 10 schools) across different economic and social conditions according to the quality evaluation standards issued by the Ministry of Education and Training to determine the overall status of educational institutions. The Testing and Quality Assurance Center will cooperate with relevant units and projects to support quality assessment and certification activities for secondary schools; continue piloting the application of management quality criteria for high schools; collaborate with the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences and related projects to research and pilot enhancing the capacity of some Departments of Education and Training to evaluate the quality of subjects taught in certain grades within their jurisdictions; study and prepare to implement the theme of the 2009-2010 academic year as The academic year for evaluating educational quality. In the coming years, functional units of the Ministry will collaborate with projects to regularly assess the quality of Mathematics and Vietnamese subjects for students in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11 nationwide, gradually increasing the number of subjects and grade levels assessed; study and support secondary schools to gradually participate in the "Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)" and the "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)."

7. Implement decentralization in managing the work of evaluating and certifying educational quality. Direct supervisory authorities of educational institutions are responsible for directing and urging the implementation of self-assessments, receiving self-assessment reports, researching and providing feedback to educational institutions; monitoring the implementation of quality improvement measures based on self-assessment results; researching and proposing decentralization in managing the work of evaluating and certifying educational quality for ministries, sectors, and localities.

8. Strengthen international cooperation in the field of evaluating and certifying educational quality. Encourage relevant units, schools, and centers to register as members of international quality assurance organizations, especially the Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN), the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) to exchange, share, and learn international experiences and potentially compare Vietnam's education with other countries. The Testing and Quality Assurance Center will prepare to successfully host the APQN Annual Conference in Vietnam in 2009; plan to host other international conferences related to ensuring and certifying educational quality.

9. Regularly organize interim and final reviews of the work of evaluating and certifying educational quality to exchange and share experiences. Initially, in December 2008, organize a conference to review the work of certifying the quality of higher education institutions; subsequently, for colleges, vocational schools, and secondary schools.

This Directive takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

This Directive must be disseminated to all educational management agencies within the national education system to ensure understanding and implementation; the Testing and Quality Assurance Center is tasked with guiding, inspecting, and urging implementation; heads of units under the Ministry of Education and Training, educational management levels, and educational institutions according to their assigned functions and responsibilities are responsible for strictly implementing this Directive.