Features

“Now Vietnam should invest in nurturing Vietnamese educators who are educational visionaries”

Mr Robert Landau

Domestic private firm Tuan Duc last week broke ground for the construction of the $20 million International School of Vietnam (ISV) in Hanoi, which is set to open in August, 2012. Head of the school Robert Landau, who is the chair of the Board of Trustees of the European Council of International School and president of the Academy of International Schools Heads, tells VIR’s Hoang Mai how the dream has become an exciting reality.

Do you think that ISV is quite a latecomer if compared to the establishment of other international schools in Vietnam?
I’m currently working in Beijing, where there are almost 30 international schools while Bangkok has over a hundred international schools.

Now I see that Hanoi is starting to invite or create the environment for more international schools. Many Vietnamese parents are sending their children to international schools and overseas.

This does not mean that international schools in the country will be no longer needed, but it reflects the fact that there is the increasing interest in international education. Logistically and realistically, there is still room in Hanoi for more international schools to come in.

How many enrolments are you expecting for ISV and what will make your school outstanding against other existing ones?

I see that a school that has started with small enrolments and then grows will succeed. A school that fails is the school tries to make a lot of money and does not hire the best teachers. It is our intention to start in a controlled manner and steadily increase admissions until we attain the capacity.

Some people determine the success of their career on how many students they have in their schools but I am not one of those people. Modern education thinking has changed and it is no longer the quantity but rather the quality of work and the quality of thinking that is important.

ISV will be a progressive institution using the latest educational philosophy and pedagogy combined with grounding in language and mathematics skills to offer a programme that is truly responsive to the needs of our students and the world they live in. ISV will be student-centered, where students take an active role in many aspects of the school’s operation. Students will “learn through doing” as they are engaged in appropriate and relevant experiential activities both inside and outside the campus.

We will get to know who our students are and what capabilities they have and we will work with every child like a coach and get the team to realise its full potential. I think a lot of schools try to sell packages of products and try to sell promises but they do not consider carefully the individual needs and learning style of each student. At ISV, we will place the emphasis on the individual learning needs.

The quality of education and educational reform in Vietnam is becoming a hot debate for local parents. Will the idea of internationalising education contribute to the Vietnamese government’s educational reform plans?
It is the same topic in China. A couple of weeks ago I gave a speech about educational reform in southern China and the topic of internationalising Chinese education.

Many spoke about importing Western education but an alternative paradigm that I favour is “made in China”.

When I come in Vietnam, it is the same important concept that is to train trainers to train teachers. When we begin the process of educational reform, it should first come from the Vietnamese culture, traditions and history and Vietnam should begin with reform by looking within the country, not by searching outside.

I think that many countries tend to look outside to see what is required and then import this in their home countries. But, now Vietnam should invest in nurturing Vietnamese educators who are educational visionaries. Vietnam could also consider creating Vietnamese schools and universities that are internationalised for Vietnam. It is my opinion that the sustainable solutions lie within Vietnam rather than the outside world.

Certainly the private sector is becoming involved in Vietnam’s education and training sector and the Vietnamese government is ready to offer them with incentives. With your own experience of ISV, do such incentives really work?

It has always to be two-way street. The Vietnamese government has established incentives to encourage foreign investment in the sector and such incentives would support the establishment of international schools.

Establishing an international school such as ISV demands large capital investment along with licencing and other administrative procedures. Additional incentives would certainly encourage more schools and international companies to see Vietnam as a promising prospect.

By Hoang Mai