Vietnam's education faces 3 major shortcomings
HANOI - Vietnam's education now encounters three major shortcomings, namely poor quality of grade education, shortage of qualified teachers and funds, and rampant organizationof extra classes, local newspaper Vietnam Economic Times reported Tuesday. Many local grade students are still not good enough at basic knowledge, practice skills and self-study. Most of schools, even universities use the teacher-centered approach under which teachers simply give more lectures and less practice exercises to students, discouraging their creativeness and activeness.
One of reasons for the low quality is the insufficiency of conditions for education development. Vietnam now lacks highly qualified teachers at many educational levels in many localities, especially in mountainous and remote areas. Also, its budget spending is just enough for teachers' salary and allowances, not for professional activities.
Another shortcoming that greatly attracts public interest is the rampant organization of extra classes. Many teachers take advantage of available school facilities or their accommodations to open extra class, giving private tuition to grade students. Some of them do that to earn extra money, the report said. In a move to erase the weakness, Vietnam plans to increase spending on education, which will account for at least 18 percent of the state budget in the 2005-2009 period, and at least 20 percent from 2010, instead of the proportion of 16 percent in 2003.
The Vietnamese government will invest 80 million US dollars to build grade schools between 2005 and 2010, and pour another large sum into establishing 110 universities and colleges from now to 2010. Vietnam now has some 22.5 million students from pre-school to higher education, or over 27 percent of its population, who attend214 universities and colleges, 546 vocational training establishments, 26,359 grade schools, and 10,104 kindergartens. Ithas literacy rate of 95.4 percent and 13 university students per 1,000 residents, said the report.
Xinhuanet - November 16, 2004
Better education given to people, says education minister
HANOI - Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Minh Hien has affirmed the effective implementation of educational policies in the past year. Minister Hien delivered a report at the Monday morning session of the 11th National Assembly in Ha Noi, saying that the Government has issued policies and taken measures to increase investment in areas with special difficulties. As a result, educational facilities in these areas have been consolidated and upgraded. The exemption of school fees and other incentive policies have helped children of poor families attend school, he said.
The people's demands for study, especially general education, have been better met while schools have been built in hamlets, villages and communes, creating favourable conditions for ethnic minority people's children to go to school. The development of a boarding school system and the increase of targets set for ethnic minority students have helped them have access to tertiary education. In particular, eight ethnic minority languages have been taught in primary schools in mountainous regions.
Tran Thi Tam Dan, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, said that the gradual improvement in the quality of education and the increased number of trained workers have contributed to the country's socio-economic development.
The education sector has basically fulfilled and overfulfilled the targets set for 2004. In the 2003-04 academic year, about 22.7 million people were trained at educational establishments. Of them 2.6 million were pre-school children. The rate of trained workers increased to 23 percent in 2003 from 13 percent in 1998, she said. Tertiary and post-graduate training has developed markedly. In the 2003-04 school year, university students numbered more than 1.032 million and postgraduates, 33,000. Students from rural and mountainous areas make up around 70 percent of all the students admitted to universities annually.
The achievements in illiteracy eradication and primary education universalisation have been maintained and strengthened. Twenty of 64 provinces and cities nationwide have universalised junior secondary education. A number of provinces and cities have begun to universalise senior secondary education.
However, the quality of education remains poor and many shortcomings still exist. Teaching and learning mainly aim at high results on examinations, and fail to encourage creativity, and in-depth study. The supply of the latest information on specialised knowledge is poor, and the knowledge in information technology, foreign languages and professional skills of the staff is limited. The sector still fails to pay due attention to education in ethics, lifestyle, and the aim of learning for students. Other shortcomings include the lack of up-dated training programmes, quality equipment, teaching aids, and systematic textbooks.
The Government's report and the examination report of the National Assembly put forth a number of key tasks and solutions for the coming period. They are to begin expanding the scale of university and vocational training in the 2005-06 school-year; to steer the education system in the direction of continuity, allowing students successively to attend intermediate school, college and university; to create more opportunities for the younger generation; to pay special attention to high-level vocational training. Efforts will be focused on strongly renewing teaching and learning methods, and improving the efficiency of educational management. In 2005, a project on building a learning society will be launched, educational programmes on demand will be organised on a test basis, and a policy will be implemented for better equality in education.
The National Assembly Committee for Culture and Education of Youth and Children suggested consideration of the above-said solutions in revising and supplementing a number of articles of the Education Law and in the plan on creating additional laws and ordinances relating to education.
Vietnam News Agency - November 15, 2004
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