Over 20 million students across Vietnam attended a national back-to-school festival on Monday morning as schools in the country upheld a decades-old tradition of commencing the academic year on the fifth day of September.

Though the actual first day of school in Vietnam varies from one place to another, September 5 has consistently been selected as the date when most schools in the country hold their opening ceremony.

The practice takes its roots from a historic event more than 70 years ago on September 5, 1945, when President Ho Chi Minh of the three-day-old Democratic Republic of Vietnam sent a letter to the country’s students in celebration of independent Vietnam’s first school year.

This year, the countrywide back-to-school festival fell on Monday, as over 20 million students and around 1.4 million teachers from kindergartens to high schools across the country attended colorful ceremonies livened up by artistic performances.

As part of the tradition, senior government officials, including State President Tran Dai Quang and Chairwoman of Vietnam’s lawmaking National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, took part in the opening ceremonies of schools this morning.

During the ceremonies, school officials read the State President’s address aloud to students before distinguished delegates were invited to deliver a brief speech and beat the drum three times marking the commencement of the academic year.

The ceremonies are often followed by festivities where students and teachers enjoy traditional games and art performances.

Improving the quality of education, with a particular focus on morals, is one of the emphases of this academic year set out by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).

Many changes are expected to take effect this school year, including the implementation of a revised version of the controversial Circular 30, which requires grade school teachers to give students comments on their performances instead of scores, as well as further adjustments to the country’s constantly shifting national high school examination and university admission process.

The country’s MoET is also looking to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages, especially English, at all levels, while promoting the application of information technology in the classroom.

More in-depth vocational guidance is also a priority for schools in Vietnam, a country where 20 percent of the unemployed population are holders of bachelor’s or master’s degrees.

The academic year 2016-2017 is a critical period for Vietnam’s path to a fundamental and comprehensive reform of its education system, set to be in place by 2018-2019.