Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at a conference.
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Speaking at the meeting, PM Phuc emphasised that investing in education is development investment, which should be prioritised in all socio-economic development plans and programme.
The PM mentioned the Party Central Committee’s resolution on basic and comprehensive reform of education and training.
The Government leader lauded the sector's efforts so far in enhancing the quality of both teaching and studying, thus helping to ease student’s study overload and improve the education infrastructure system, especially in mountainous and remote areas.
However, he also mentioned a number of problems in the sector, including the ineffectiveness in foreign language teaching, which is leading to poor English proficiency among high school students amidst the country’s strong international integration.
Schools have yet to focus on equipping students with social skills and good personality and lifestyles, resulting in many regretful violations in schools, Phuc noted.
The PM also pointed to the limited efficiency of vocational and tertiary training, which has not matched the needs of the labour market, leading to large numbers of unemployed university graduates and a lack of highly-qualified workers in many enterprises.
According to initial statistics, Vietnam has to spend US$3 billion to send students to study abroad, he noted.
Noting that the infrastructure in many schools has been in bad condition, he required the government at all levels and all sectors to end the situation that children study in temporary classrooms with a dilapidated toilet or even no toilet.
Besides, it is very important to speed up the construction of schools in industrial parks, he asked.
PM Phuc also assigned the education sector to help in forming good personnalities for Vietnamese students during this industrialisation and modernisation period.
“Schools should teach students to comprehend and love the country’s history and tradition of safeguarding and constructing the nation, to love their fellows, to respect other people and uphold social responsibility,” he asked.
The Government leader called on the Party, State and the whole society to join hands with the education sector to improve education quality, which he described as key for the country’s sustainable development.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam said that communications is a weakness of the education sector, which should be improved to mobilise the support and supervision of the society.
According to a report of the sector, despite economic difficulties, investment to education and training in 2016 still accounts for 20% of total State budget spending.
The report also highlighted the positive adjustments in the national final examination for high school students, which meet the requirements for enrolling in college and university.
