The Ministry of Education and Training will not submit its controversial 10-year project to reform Vietnam's K-12 educational system to the legislature for approval next month as originally planned. During a meeting Friday of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, and Children, Minister Pham Vu Luan said his agency needs more time to finalize its plans and establish cost estimates, news website VietNamNet reported. A revised plan will be submitted to the National Assembly once it is reviewed and approved by the government, he said. Last week at a meeting with the legislature's Standing Committee, Luan's deputy, Nguyen Vinh Hien, said the project would cost at least VND34.27 trillion (US$1.6 billion) and would focus mainly on revising K-12 textbooks and academic programs. The cost raised hackles from lawmakers and criticism from educators who said the sketchy plan didn't justify such an enormous investment. Luan backpedaled during an interview with … [Read more...] about Vietnam ministry delays educational reform plan after criticisms
Vietnam education reform
World Bank helps fund Vietnam education reform
WASHINGTON – The World Bank approved Friday two credits totalling US$150 million to help Viet Nam support and sustain the implementation of its Higher Education Reforms Agenda and improve pre-school preparation for 5-year old children. WASHINGTON – The World Bank approved Friday two credits totalling US$150 million to help Viet Nam support and sustain the implementation of its Higher Education Reforms Agenda and improve pre-school preparation for 5-year old children. “The World Bank is pleased to support the strengthening of Viet Nam’s education sector to help raise the country’s economic competitiveness,” said Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank Country Director for Viet Nam. “Improving education outcomes for the population is an important part of Viet Nam’s economic and social development agenda and has been defined as one of the three breakthrough areas in its Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2011-20,” she stressed. … [Read more...] about World Bank helps fund Vietnam education reform
Vietnam minister denies huge costs of educational reform amid criticism
Pham Vu Luan made the statement in an interview with Vietnam Television, one week after his deputy Nguyen Vinh Hien presented the plan at a meeting with the National Assembly's Standing Committee. According to the Minister of Education and Training, the cost was incorrectly reported and was never mentioned in the proposal submitted to the committee and the government. "It was a very unfortunate mistake, and the education ministry would like to take responsibility for it," he said. Luan said he and the rest of the ministry leadership had yet to discuss or calculate the project cost and therefore had not included any such projections in the initial written proposal. Only when the project received approval from the National Assembly -- Vietnam'sl legislature -- would the ministry begin work on a detailed plan that included cost estimates and public input, he said. Asked about the VND34.27 trillion cost ($1.6 billion) projection reported at the meeting last week, the minister … [Read more...] about Vietnam minister denies huge costs of educational reform amid criticism
Proof of education reform pudding is in eating: ex-minister
A Party resolution to reform the education system is good news, but its implementation holds the key, former education minister Tran Hong Quan tells Vietweek in this interview. Vietweek: The resolution on an across-the-board overhaul of the education system passed recently by the Communist Party does not mention university education, but only primary, secondary, and high-school education. But university education greatly decides the quality of human resources. What do you think about it?Tran Hong Quan: University and vocational education often change rapidly with the market's human-resource demand. Resolutions often mention the most fundamental and general issues. This is the reason for the fact that university education is not mentioned in the resolution. But it mentions the most basic educational issues, and I welcome the way the resolution deals with the issues. The resolution calls for keeping the high-school graduation exam but eliminating university entrance exams. What do you … [Read more...] about Proof of education reform pudding is in eating: ex-minister
What Measures are Needed for Educational Reform
In the Tenth Party Congress, an issue of much concern is the improvement of education quality. Some opinions of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC )representatives have been recorded by SGGP reporters. More investment in the teaching staff The topic of education always leads to the discussion on educational quality and comprehensive education. In my opinion, in the past five years, we have had great achievements in education. The increase of the educational budget and the policy on the participation of the non-private sectors into education are some examples, thanks to which Ho Chi Minh City has had thousands of new classrooms and billions of VND to invest in infrastructure every year. The remote and distant regions have had beautifully-built schools. The fact demonstrates that people in schooling ages have more conditions for their schooling, more options for their education al models and their schools both domestically and overseas. What are specific solutions for an "educational improvement"? … [Read more...] about What Measures are Needed for Educational Reform