Vietnam Plans AI Education in Secondary Schools From 2026-2027 as Pilot Survey Shows Most Students Use AI Tools

At the International Conference on Educational Cooperation in the Digital Age held in Hanoi on October 8-9, Le Anh Vinh, Director of Vietnam's Institute for Educational Strategy and Policy, said that after research, competency framework development and pilot programs, Vietnam plans to implement AI education in secondary schools starting from the 2026-2027 academic year. An online survey following the AI education pilot, presented at the conference, showed that 90.5% of participating middle school students and 97.6% of high school students had used AI tools, while 35% and 36.7% respectively reported difficulties in assessing the accuracy and reliability of information provided by AI.

The event moves AI education from tool introduction to curriculum implementation and assessment adjustment, directly affecting secondary school curricula, teaching and evaluation in Vietnam, and offering verifiable pilot data for other countries. The conference also noted that more digitalization does not necessarily mean better learning, and that AI-generated articles and presentations make it difficult for teachers to judge student ability from final products alone, so teaching and assessment methods need adjustment. The survey sample is not representative of all students nationwide, and the gap between usage rates and verification difficulties requires more evidence. Vietnamese secondary schools need to prepare AI curriculum content, teacher training and age-appropriate safety instruction for the 2026-2027 academic year. Teachers face adjustments to assessment, since final products that AI can generate make it hard to judge students' thinking and knowledge formation.