ADB’s Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP) helped Viet Nam’s secondary education sector achieve stronger learning outcomes and increased the competitiveness of secondary school students.

The program supports the government's efforts to fundamentally and comprehensively reform education in Viet Nam and directly benefited ethnic- minority, poor, and female students by making secondary education more accessible and affordable. A conditional cash transfer program had significant impact in increasing attendance and transition rates among the poor, ethnic minorities, and females, and in increasing the number of years of education completed by poor children and girls.

The SESDP was also the first sector development program (SDP) in Viet Nam’s education sector. Like all other SDPs, the SESDP comprised a set of interlinked policy reforms and investments. It was thought to be more effective than traditional project approaches to sustaining reform and has successfully addressed three key constraints in secondary education: