VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), in an effort to develop the system of gifted schools to find talents for the country, has decided to launch a programme worth 2.3 trillion dong. However, many educators still have doubts about the feasibility of the plan.

The programme on gifted school development was introduced by MOET in early November. According to Vu Dinh Chuan, Director of the High Education Department under MOET, the target is forevery city or province to have at least one school for the gifted students, while the total number of gifted school students will account for two percent of the total general school students of provinces and cities.

MOET hopes that by 2015, Vietnam will have 100 percent of high schools meeting the national standards by 2015, including 15 key schools which have the education quality equal with the advanced high schools in the region and in the world. By that time, at least 50 percent of students should be classified as having excellent learning capacity, while 70 percent of students would have good knowledge about information technology, and 30 percent of students would reach Level 3 in accordance with the standards set by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE).

However, many problems have been cited after one month of implementation

Where to find qualified teachers?

With the plan, Vietnam aims to of have 15 key gifted schools which have the same status with the most advanced schools in the region and in the world. Besides, 200 teachers will be sent abroad to attend the training courses for MA degree, 730 other teachers will also be sent abroad, so when they return, they can teach mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and informatics in English. MOET is planning to train 500 teachers domestically who will get MA degree, and train 1560 management officers in informatics.

It is estimated that the total cost ofimproving teachers’ qualification may reach 624 billion dong.

Meanwhile, some educators have raised a question of whether Vietnam really needs to spend such a big sum of money to send teachers abroad, though they agree that retraining and upgrading the qualification of teachers is a must.

Associate Professor Van Nhu Cuong, now Headmaster of Luong The Vinh High School, said that there is a serious shortage of qualified teachers, while successors still have not been found. If Vietnam sends teachers abroad, it will be able to settle a part of the current problems,  but it will not address the root of  the problems .

Cuong emphasized that in order to have qualified teachers, it is necessary to make largerinvestments in pedagogical schools

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor Nguyen Vu Luong, also said that it is necessary to make investments in pedagogical schools, because these are the “mainframes” which produce teachers.

The model of “gifted school with high achievements”

Commenting on the target of having 15 key gifted schools with the international status, a teacher from the Hanoi Gifted School under the Hanoi University of Education, said he cannot understand what the policy makers will consider when deciding which schools will be listed among the 15 schools.

Associate Professor Nguyen Vu Luong, Headmaster of the Gifted High School under the Hanoi National University, said that the school has produced a lot of excellent students over the past many years. many of the students got national and international prizes and became scientists well known in Vietnam and in the world. However, the school has not been chosen as the target of investment. Currently, the students of the school still have to study in cramped and low-grade classrooms.

Source: Nguoi lao dong