The pride of an 120-year-old school

The homeland of Binh Duong is proud to have a school associated with the formation and development of the province - Binh Duong Fine Arts and Culture Intermediate School (formerly Thu Dau Mot Native Fine Arts School). Over the past 120 years and through many stages of history, the school still maintains training the traditional professions. In the integration stage, the school actively innovates to improve training programs and opens new majors to meet demand for human resources in line with social needs.

Training for social needs

120 years ago, Thu Dau Mot was known as a land associated with handicrafts including ceramics and lacquer. In order to promote the strengths of the land, the French colony chose the place to establish the Thu Dau Mot Native Fine Arts School in order to activate the handicraft industry. Through many stages of history, the school still maintains training of traditional disciplines such as furniture design, decorative lacquer, decorative sculpture etc.

Experiencing many stages of history over the past 120 years, Binh Duong Fine Arts and Culture Intermediate School is still a place to maintain training of traditional professions. In the photo: Binh Duong Fine Arts and Culture Intermediate School now and then. Documented photo.

Since the country's renovation and integration, in order to adapt to the development of society, the school has gradually grown in size and expanded its training majors as well as opened more short-term primary majors. At the current intermediate level, the school offers training in the following disciplines of graphic design, fashion design, furniture design, lacquer, sculpture, vocal music, cultural management, and tourist guide.

In the process of 120 years of construction and development and since 2012, the school has much changed in training to adapt to innovation and integration. Accordingly, the school has cooperated with universities to provide training from intermediate to university level and to cooperate with agencies and businesses. Specifically, the school has cooperated with Ton Duc Thang University to open 3 classes in graphic design and 1 class in wood design and interior decoration; it has cooperated with the University of Culture of Ho Chi Minh city to open 2 classes in cultural management; it has engaged in training at Alexander enterprise wood carving industry; it has coordinated with Department of Education and Training to open organ training and library training courses.

Teacher of lacquer art is passionate with teaching generation after generation of trainees

Talking to us, Mr. Le Quang Loi, Deputy Principal in charge of Binh Duong Fine Arts and Culture Intermediate School, said that the school's training process over the past 120 years has experienced many difficulties and challenges that sometimes seemed insurmountable. Despite many difficulties, the management staff and teachers have always been enthusiastic and devoted to their job - all for the sake of dear students. “The school always attaches importance to the quality of training; the quality and skills of the students are first. In particular, the school focuses on training creativity while maintaining and developing traditional occupations such as lacquer, sculpture, wood design, etc. in order to meet qualified and creative human resources as the foundation for training in applied arts in the current digital transformation education stage," Mr. Loi affirmed.

To elevate training quality

Maintaining and developing a school with a long tradition, the goal of the school's Board of Trustees is to train in the fields of traditional fine arts, applied arts, art culture, tourism and aesthetics to offer human resources with sufficient qualifications and professional ethics, skills, techniques and creativity; through which, to preserve heritage and traditions and to train careers and promote creativity in developing education and training according to the mission set out by the school.

Putting the quality of training first, the school standardizes the teaching staff to ensure the standards of professional qualifications, professionalism and ethics to meet the requirements of the 4^th industrial revolution and application of science and technology to vocational training; they strive to meet the standards of the Vietnamese national qualification framework and the ASEAN qualification framework. Meeting the development requirements of society, the school trains direct human resources for production, business and services with professional practice capacity corresponding to the training level while being ethical and healthy under professional responsibility and the ability to be creative and adaptive to the working environment in the context of international integration; they ensure improvement of productivity and quality of labor to facilitate learners after completing the course to be able to find a job and create their own job or study to a higher level.

Furniture-designing students are practicing

Mr. Loi affirmed that, for the collective benefit and for the 120-year-old School of Fine Arts and Culture with the tradition of the best tradition and honor, the school always attaches importance to training quality. Therefore, even in the most difficult times, the school's leadership and management team still maintain the tradition and training professions to open new professions and provide short-term vocational training at the school and at enterprises while ensuring the quality of teaching in theory and practice. The management staff and teachers are always dedicated to the motto of only giving out the best and most methodically trained products in accordance with the motto that the vocational education system is aiming for, that is focusing on training associated with social needs and training qualified and high-quality human resources to serve the cause of industrialization and modernization of the nation and gradually improve the quality of vocational education towards modernity, accessible to advanced vocational education in the region and the world.

It can be affirmed that Binh Duong Fine Arts and Culture Intermediate School still exists and develops over time with its brand, which is derived from the great merits of previous generations and teachers who have devoted their whole lives to the cause of education and the development of the school. In particular, the school has also received the attention, direction and facilitation of the provincial Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, relevant departments and mass organizations.

Reported by Anh Sang – Translated by Vi Bao