In the past 20 years, Vietnam has seen great advances in the number of children enrolled in school, even in the poorest communities. ChildFund’s work, too, has evolved from providing basic school infrastructure to partnering with community members, families and children to make sure their voices are included in the management of schools. We work with local education officials and policy makers to promote education based on children’s rights, experiential learning and child-centered teaching methods.
Our Child Rights and Child Protection program is helping develop the capacity of our local partners and increase the voice and agency of children through clubs, campaigns and a national children’s forum. Teachers and other educational staff members in Vietnam’s poorest school districts receive training in helping students develop cognitive skills, literacy and other academic needs, and some educators are learning about school auditing, to make sure schools continue to improve.
Making sure that children have continuous access to education is a vital part of interrupting the cycle of poverty. Although considerable progress has been made in school enrollment in recent years, students in isolated rural regions have larger challenges, including child labor and higher dropout rates in secondary school.