VietNamNet Bridge – Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha has granted Nhan Dan newspaper an interview regarding the sector’s tasks for the new 2016-2017 academic year, which begins throughout the country on  September 5.

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha. (Credit: NDO)

The new 2016-2017 school year is the first year during the implementation period for the tasks and goals set by the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress for the education and training sector. Could you please point out the major tasks for this new academic year?

Based on the practical situation, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has undertaken to focus on implementing nine major tasks aimed at strengthening school discipline and improving education and training quality.

The first task is to conduct a comprehensive review and planning of the educational institution network. The MoET will establish principles and criteria for the local implementation of network planning in line with the conditions of each region or locality, while evaluating higher education facilities and reorganising the network in line with the high-quality human resource requirements of international integration.

Second, the education sector will focus on improving the capacity of teachers and educational managers at all levels.

Third, the sector will deploy measures to raise awareness of vocational training for students, in addition to completing vocational education programmes and developing policies and mechanisms to assist vocational educators in high schools.

Along with that, the ministry will enhance the quality of foreign language instruction, especially English instruction, at all education and training levels, continuing to foster and standardise foreign language teachers and creating environments in which students can communicate in foreign languages.

Another task is boosting the application of IT in teaching, learning and education management.

For educational infrastructure development, in addition to funding from the State budget, the MoET is stepping up attracting extra-budgetary funds to upgrade facilities and equipment for teaching and research, especially strengthening co-operation with enterprises to invest in laboratories and research centres and contributing to improving the quality of education and scientific research, while addressing the practical requirements of businesses.

The education sector also enhances international integration through by innovative educational models, curricula, textbooks, tests and foreign student assessments at high schools across the country. The sector also encourages domestic educational institutions to apply advanced educational programmes adapted from abroad, to use English in teaching and to attract international experts to join teaching and scientific research.

Another key task is to promote autonomy and self-responsibility among institutions of higher education. The MoET encourages institutions of higher education to promote their autonomy as prescribed in laws and regulations, especially in the spirit of Resolution No. 77/NQ-CP issued by the government in 2014, while strengthening inspections and strictly handling violations to ensure effective autonomous implementation.

The final task for education is focusing research and forecasting labour market needs; adjusting the structure and controlling the scale of training towards reduction targets for sectors less in need of recruitment or of lower quality; and scaling up the training needs of the recruitment industry to develop high-quality human resources.

The final task defined by the education sector in the new academic year is researching and forecasting labour market needs to adjust the scale of training towards reduction to develop high-quality human resources.

As you mention above, one of the key tasks is to improve the quality of teaching staff and managers at all levels. It is also regarded as one of the decisive factors that make for success in educational innovation. According to you, what are specific measures the education sector should make to help teachers and managers at educational institutions meet the requirements for renovation in both the short and long terms?

Improving the quality of teachers and education managers is a key task deciding the success of the renewal process, so the task needs to be performed continuously and in the long term. Currently, there are over 1.3 million teachers and educational managers across the nation. The education sector will review, finalise and promulgate standards for teachers, thereby building programmes and plans and organise training for them, in addition to disqualifying teachers who fail to meet the standards.

For educational management staff, the sector will organise planning for key leaders at the local level. On the basis of planning for standardised educational management positions, the sector will appoint and rotate key personnel at State management agencies and educational institutions, ensuring that they suit the capabilities and strengths of each staff member, contributing to improving the efficiency of educational direction and execution.

The education sector also focusses on honouring and emulating exemplary teachers and advanced educational models, continuing to promote throughout the sector the emulation movement of “good teaching, good learning” and “each teacher is a moral example of self-study and creativity” to provoke enthusiasm and sense of professionalism among teachers.

For this new school year, what are some changes the education sector has made to develop capacity, quality and skills for students in the spirit of the comprehensive innovation of education and training?

In recent years, along with improving the quality of teaching and learning in general, the education sector has attached importance to providing students with moral, lifestyle and life skills for students. The content of moral and lifestyle education has been integrated into various subjects and educational activities with diverse forms aimed at increasing opportunities for students to experience creativeness. However, as teaching conditions are not guaranteed and the perceptions of some students and parents are limited, the time spent on education in life skills has not yet been commensurate.

In the academic year 2016-2017 and those to follow it, the MoET will particularly emphasise education in morality, lifestyle and life skills and instilling in citizens a sense of responsibility towards society and the community. In particular, the sector will focus on innovating teaching methods and promoting positive, proactive and creative self-study methods for students.

It will also promote the use of active teaching methods and ensure a balance between developing students’ knowledge and skills and orientating their attitudes and behaviour.

In addition to organising sessions in the classroom, the schools should undertake to guide students’ learning outside of school, while encouraging them to participate in cultural activities, physical training and sporting to promote their interest in learning.

The MoET will also actively co-operate with relevant ministries and agencies to implement comprehensive education to develop both qualifications and competencies in students.

Nhan Dan