Vietnam pilots AI education across grades 1-12 starting December
Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training will pilot artificial intelligence (AI) across the general education curriculum from this month through May 2026. The pilot will run at selected schools, with details to follow. Afterward, the ministry will review results and finalize a framework for broader rollout.
Pilot scope and timeline
The draft guideline centers AI learning for all grades without adding extra load to the timetable. Schools will integrate AI into existing learning outcomes through themed lessons, project-based work, or extracurricular clubs. Following the pilot, the ministry plans to refine the approach for future school years.
Core knowledge areas
- Human-centered thinking: How AI supports people, communities, and learning goals.
- AI ethics: Privacy, data protection, fairness, and age-appropriate use.
- AI techniques and applications: Data, algorithms, models, and everyday classroom use cases.
- AI system design: Planning, building, testing, and evaluating simple AI solutions.
What students will learn by stage
Primary and lower secondary (grades 1-9)
- Early exposure through visual and audio-based tools that support learning tasks.
- Growing awareness of personal data protection and safe use habits.
- Introduction to core concepts: data, patterns, and basic algorithms (especially in lower secondary).
- Practicing with AI responsibly, spotting risks and bias in outputs.
High school (career orientation)
- Designing and evaluating simple AI systems to solve real problems.
- Developing stronger problem-solving and project skills with AI in the loop.
- Exploring career pathways in technology and related fields.
Teacher-facing use cases in the pilot
- Classroom management: Scheduling, resources, and communication support.
- Lesson planning: Drafting outlines, adapting materials, and differentiating activities.
- Assessment: New ways to give feedback, formative checks, and rubric-aligned grading support.
The ministry notes this pilot aligns with national priorities. Resolution 71 calls for stronger digital transformation, digital literacy, and AI adoption in education management at all levels.
Guardrails and ethics to keep front and center
- Age-appropriate exposure, especially in primary grades.
- Clear data protection rules and consent practices.
- Bias awareness: verify outputs, teach students to question results, and document limitations.
- Transparency with families about tools used and why.
For reference, see international guidance on safe AI in education from UNESCO (AI in Education) and child-focused safeguards from UNICEF (Policy Guidance on AI for Children).
What school leaders can do now
- Map AI to outcomes: Identify where AI naturally supports existing standards in ICT, science, language arts, and civics.
- Pick pilot units: Start with short projects (2-4 weeks) that include an ethics checkpoint and a reflection activity.
- Set guardrails: Define approved tools, login rules, data privacy practices, and no-upload zones for sensitive student work.
- Upskill teachers: Run short workshops on prompt quality, bias checks, and assessment redesign. Pair teachers for peer support.
- Assessment first: Update rubrics to reward process, verification steps, and originality alongside final results.
- Engage parents: Share what AI will be used for, how student data is protected, and how families can support safe use at home.
- Document impact: Track time saved, student engagement, misconceptions found, and learning gains to inform the ministry review.
Quick wins for the classroom
- Use speech-to-text and text-to-speech for accessibility and language learning.
- Have students compare AI summaries with original sources to practice verification.
- Run a bias-spotting activity: prompt an AI tool, analyze outputs, and suggest fixes.
- Build a simple classifier or chatbot with no-code tools to learn data labeling and evaluation.
Professional learning
If you're planning training cycles for staff, curate a small set of safe, high-utility tools and align them to your subjects and age bands. For structured options by role, see Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.
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