The Vietnamese Government has allocated 20 percent of State budget spending or 5.8 percent of national gross domestic product (GDP) each year on education, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha has said. 

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha speaks at the Education World Forum.

The number amounts to 8 percent of GDP if family contributions are calculated, the minister said at the Education World Forum (EWF) that is underway in London from January 20-23.

Such investments have paid off as the country has reaped achievements in the sector, he said, citing the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test in 2015 in which Vietnam ranked eighth in science, 22nd in mathematics and 30th in reading. 

According to the PISA test, Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest educational investment efficiency, Nha said, adding the country has been always named among the top 10 of international contests for science students. 

The minister said Vietnam has made significant achievements in school network expansion and the universalization of primary and secondary education. 

Localities have also rolled out preferential policies and facilitated ethnic minority children or those in difficult circumstances to access education, Nha added. 

He said statistics indicate that Vietnam has seen no gender inequality in education, especially in educational access and results. 

The minister, however, pointed out challenges facing national education such as high secondary-school dropout rates in disadvantaged areas and weak soft skills among Vietnamese students. 

In his speech, Nha also highlighted relations between teachers, families, students and the community in forming a result-oriented and effective educational system. 

As the world’s largest gathering of education and skills ministers, the 2019 WWF brings together 1,263 delegates from 95 countries worldwide. 

The event features talks from pioneers, policy makers and experts, with sessions given by education ministers as part of an assessment of education’s common issues. -VNA