VietNamNet Bridge – It would be difficult to achieve the target of universalising pre-school education for five-year-old children by the end of next year, agreed educational experts at a conference this week.

Pre-school children study painting in Hong Tri Commune, Bao Lac District, Cao Bang Province. A lack of funds makes it hard for remote, mountainous areas to achieve the target of universalising pre-school education for five-year-old children by the end of next year.

Tran Thi Tam Dan, former chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education, the Youth and Children, said that remote areas had not made any progress towards this goal.

Additionally, many localities faced fund shortages, according to Hoang Duc Tham, deputy director of the Quang Tri Department of Education and Training.

Experts recommended that the State join hands with parents, private enterprises and organisations to invest in pre-school education.

"If school fees are too low, children cannot be taken care of well," Dan said.

Former National Assembly deputy Nguyen Minh Thuyet said that the MOET should build more private kindergartens so that more five-year-olds would attend school.

This was also a good way to create more work for residents, he said.

Deputy chairman of the education sector's trade union Pham Van Thanh suggested localities implement supportive policies for kindergarten teachers. He cited the example of the southern province of Binh Duong, which provided teachers who lacked accommodations with VND700,000 (US$33) to rent homes.

When the State built public houses for teachers, priority should be given to kindergarten teachers, he added.

VNS/VNN