ADB helps improve Vietnam’s education

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing US$90 million in fresh funds to help Vietnam strengthen teaching skills and courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and social sciences.

According to a news released issued by the ADB on November 2, the project is aimed at ensuring upper secondary graduates have the skills to meet the country’s labor needs.

“Vietnam’s thriving economy has highlighted a gap between what schools teach and what employers need. This project will help prepare young people for the job market, with a special focus on increasing opportunities for women and girls, people with special needs, and students coming from poor households,” said Eiko Izawa, Senior Education Specialist in the Southeast Asia Department at ADB.

The Second Upper Secondary Education Development Project focuses on improving teaching standards by introducing international standards, new training methods and providing new training materials; upgrading curricula, including investing in textbooks; and providing targeted support for students who are struggling academically. It builds on earlier ADB assistance to improve the sector.

Vietnam’s economy has been booming since the 1980s, with the country reaching middle income status in 2010.

However, future growth will depend on a labor force skilled enough to meet the needs of the job market. At present less than 30 percent of young workers, or half the workforce, have completed upper secondary schooling.

Although enrolment and completion rates for upper secondary have increased sharply over the past decade, academic performance remains relatively low compared to other ASEAN members. Retention is an issue, with only about three-quarters of impoverished students completing upper secondary school, well below the national average.

The project will open up opportunities for teachers to receive training abroad; improve English-language education; build laboratory equipment and teaching aids for physics, chemistry and biology; and develop classrooms and materials for students with disabilities. Targeted assistance for ethnic minority students will be provided. The project will also examine the feasibility of allowing private educators to increase their role in the state sector through public private partnerships.    

The project will run for about seven years, till December 2019.

Dengue fever kills 47 nationwide

As many as 60,000 people nationwide have been infected with dengue fever since the beginning of 2012 and 47 of them have died.

According to the Ministry of Health, there were 6,000 new cases of dengue fever and five fatalities linked to the disease in October alone.

The spreading of the epidemic remains complicated, especially in southern provinces.

In Binh Phuoc province, there are 4,500 recorded cases of infection including six that were fatal, while in Tien Giang the number of infected has hit 3,600 with one fatality.

The health watchdog attributes the situation to poor public awareness of the need to prevent the disease.

Women's Union finds many jobs

The HCM City Women's Union has provided vocational skills and jobs to thousands of women under a 2010-15 Government project.

Le Thi Thu Hien, head of the union's Economic Support Division, said when Project 295 began, the union instructed its local chapters to ensure it was implemented in every commune, ward, and town.

It has achieved good results since, she added.

The programme seeks to assist around 5,000 women a year, training and finding jobs for them, lifting them out of poverty.

Tran Xuan Mui, a member of the Ward 14 Women's Union in Binh Thanh District, said that she recently completed a one-month training course in growing vegetable sprouts along with 19 other women.

It was a simple enough task, and she could now grow sprouts to earn some extra income, she said.

Nguyen Thi Liem, another member of the Binh Thanh District Women's Union, said in her district free vocational training courses were provided for women in hair styling, make-up, handicrafts, making fake flowers, and growing vegetables.

These courses were easy to learn and practise, she said.

In the outlying districts of Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, and Nha Be, since last year the unions have been offering tailoring courses and setting up groups that make garments for companies on subcontract.

Vo Thi Kim Hien in Nha Be's Hiep Phuoc Commune said she earns VND2 million a month now after attending a tailoring course. She now works in a group that makes garments for companies.

As of June 2012 unions in most wards and communes around the city have organised training courses and found jobs for women, according to the HCM City Women's Union.

The programme is also being implemented in other cities and provinces around the country. It targets mainly poor and ethnic minority women, those with disabilities, and those who have been resettled to make way for public works.

Rotten sausages seized on the way to market

Market watch officers detained a truck carrying 130kg of rotten sausages in Bao Thang District in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on Wednesday.

The driver confessed that he had bought the sausages in Hekou, China and was transporting them to Ha Noi to sell.
The previous day, 200kg of rotten sausages were seized in the same district.

All the goods were destroyed, following government regulations.

Random checks find no tranquilliser in pork

The Viet Nam Food Administration has declared that it found no traces of the tranquilliser Prozil in pork following a random check on products for sale in HCM City.

The tests were conducted after local print and online newspapers reported that some pigs were injected with Prozil before slaughter to make the meat stay fresh longer.

The tranquilliser is believed to cause liver and kidney damage, so if true, the pork would present a significant health hazard to consumers.

The administration said it would provide further updates.

Boiler explosion injures four workers

A gas boiler exploded yesterday on the premises of Tin Thanh Co.Ltd, injuring four workers. The firm is located in Tan Dong Hiep Commune in southern Binh Duong Province.

According to workers on the scene, a sudden explosion occurred at 3am, sending iron and metal pieces flying.
The injured workers were sent to the hospital for treatment. A 200-square-metre workshop was completely destroyed and other boilers were deformed.

Local authorities are working with Binh Duong police to investigate the cause of the explosion.

HCM City health system needs revamping

The city's public health system needs to be revamped urgently with increased investment, higher staff remuneration, more qualified staff and higher health personnel to patient ratios, says Le Truong Giang chairman of the City Public Health Association.

The public health system encompasses activities that target protecting people's health through environment protection, disease prevention, ensuring food safety and hygiene, encouraging healthy habits and carrying out initial healthcare programmes, as opposed to the public healthcare system that covers treatment of injuries and illnesses.

Giang said at a workshop held in HCM City last week that the public health system should receive 30 per cent of the total funds allocated for the health sector by 2015 and 35 per cent by 2020. The current ratio is 25.8 per cent.
He also stressed the need for a policy to raise staff remuneration in the city's public health system.

Although the state has approved an allowance equal to 70 per cent of the basic salary for staff in preventive health, their income still is lower than counterparts in the treatment sector.

This is why provinces and cities in general and HCM City in particular have always faced a shortage of personnel, especially high-skilled ones, in the public health system, Giang said.

Currently, the ratio of health staff per 10,000 residents in preventive health centres and health clinics in the city's wards and communes is 2.6, lower than the whole country's average ratio of 7.53.

It should be noted that this ratio has not changed in the last three years, Giang said, adding that the general qualification of staff in preventive health was lower than in other areas.

He said more universities in Viet Nam should offer courses in public health and related fields including sociology and psychology.

Currently, Ha Noi has one public health university and HCM City's Medical University has one public health faculty.

The public health system's facilities, including health clinics and preventive health centres, should be upgraded and equipped with new technology, Giang said.

UNFPA aids reproductive healthcare strategy

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has pledged continued support to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to implement the national strategy on population and reproductive health care for the 2011-2020 period.

The MoH and the UNFPA held a ceremony to launch the support project in Hanoi on October 31.

According to Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien, the UNFPA’s assistance will be a firm foundation for Vietnam’s efforts to address such issues as gender imbalance at birth, care for old people, domestic violence, safe motherhood and family planning, towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The project will focus on collecting data, improving the formulation, implementation and supervision of laws, policies and programmes in the fields of population, reproductive health, sexual health and gender violence.

Acting Chief Representative of UNFPA Vietnam Mandeep K. O’Brien said investment in reproductive health care and sexual health is part of the poverty reduction and hunger alleviation of many countries in the world, including Vietnam.

She affirmed the UNFPA’s strong commitment to help the Vietnamese government in its efforts to reach the target of universal access to integrated services for qualified reproductive and sexual health care at commune and district levels.

VNN/VOV/VNS