Vietnam will participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012 in a bid to draw up a suitable education strategy that meets international standards by 2020.

The information was released at a seminar held by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) in Hanoi on April 13.

Initiated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1997, the programme aims to collect and provide data for comparing reading, mathematical and scientific literacy among students aged between 15 years and 3 months and 16 years and 2 months, thus assessing their adaptability to challenges in adult life. The results help governments choose the best universal education policies.

Participants in the seminar agreed that joining PISA will help Vietnam’s universal education soon catch up with the global trend.

This is an objective and scientific basis for the educational sector to assess the standard of Vietnamese students in comparison with those in other countries, they said.

MoET Deputy Minister Banh Tien Long said that joining PISA will offer an opportunity for the educational sector to see strong and weak points of Vietnamese students and of the whole education process, thus making suitable adjustments to improve the quality of education.

As many as 67 countries and territories have joined PISA and many of them have adjusted their educational programmes.