 |
| Inside a classroom at Tran Phu Lower Secondary School in Tran Hung Dao ward, Hung Yen province__Photo: VNA |
On August 22, the Party Central Committee issued Resolution 71-NQ/TW, identifying breakthrough objectives for education and training development up to 2035, with a vision toward 2045. These objectives focus on drastically renewing legal institutions to remove policy bottlenecks, guaranteeing full autonomy for education institutions, promoting digital transformation in the education sector, and building new models of innovation and technology-based university. Below are excerpts of the resolution.
OBJECTIVES
Objectives through 2030
To expand equitable access and improve the quality of early childhood education and general education to reach advanced levels in Asia. To establish a network of schools and classrooms that fundamentally meet the learning needs of students across age groups and regions, with at least 80 percent of general education schools reaching national standards. To complete early childhood education universalization for children aged three to five years and compulsory lower secondary education; to ensure that at least 85 percent of population of designated age complete upper secondary education or the equivalent, with no province or city falling below 60 percent. To achieve initial results in enhancing technological command, artificial intelligence competency and English proficiency of general education pupils. The education index to the Human Development Index (HDI) will surpass 0.8, with the education inequality index reduced to below 10 percent.
To develop high-quality human resources to help Vietnam become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income. The network of higher education and vocational education institutions will be restructured and upgraded; all higher education institutions and at least 80 percent of vocational education institutions will attain national standards, with 20 percent of them modernized to reach the level of the developed Asian countries. Half of the total population of designated age will be enrolled in post-upper secondary education. To ensure that 24 percent of the workforce will possess a college or university or higher degree. The rate of learners in basic sciences, engineering and technology will reach at least 35 percent, including at least 6,000 doctoral candidates and 20,000 students pursuing talent programs. The human capital and research index to the Global Innovation Index (GII) will be on par with that of the upper-middle income countries.
To turn higher education institutions into national and regional research, innovation and startup centers. The network of higher education institutions will play a core role in regional and local innovation ecosystems, providing high-quality human resources and talents to meet the needs of key industries and sectors; to recruit at least 2,000 outstanding foreign lecturers. To increase by an average of 12 percent per year the number of international scientific publications and revenues from science, technology and innovation; and by 16 percent per year the number of patent applications and invention patents. To strive for the target that at least eight higher education institutions will be ranked among the top 200 universities in Asia, and at least one higher education institution among the world’s top 100 universities in reputable international rankings.
Objectives through 2035
The education and training system will continue to be modernized, making strong and steady progress in terms of accessibility, equitability and quality. To complete the universalization of upper secondary education or the equivalent; the education index to HDI will surpass 0.85; and the human capital and research index to the GII will surpass the average of the upper-middle income countries. At least two higher education institutions will be ranked among the world’s top 100 universities in reputable international rankings.
Vision toward 2045
Vietnam will have a modern, equitable and high-quality national education system to be ranked among the world’s top 20 countries. All citizens will have opportunities for lifelong learning, improving their knowledge and skills, and fully developing their personal potential. High-quality human resources and scientific and technological talents will become key driving forces and key competitive advantages of the country, contributing to turning Vietnam into a developed, high-income country. At least five higher education institutions will be ranked among the world’s top 100 universities in reputable international rankings.
TASKS AND SOLUTIONS
Raising awareness, renewing the way of thinking and action, and affirming a strong political resolve to create breakthroughs in education and training development
To thoroughly and profoundly disseminate within the entire political system and society the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines and Ho Chi Minh Thought on education and training. To step up public communication for raising awareness as well as the role and responsibilities of all ministries, central agencies, socio-political organizations, local Party Committees and administrations, agencies, organizations, units, enterprises and all citizens toward the cause of education and training.
To continue to strongly renew the way of thinking in leadership and direction; to shift from administrative management to development facilitation, modern governance and resolute action. To place education and training development in the broader framework of national governance and social governance, ensuring alignment with orientations, master plans and socio-economic development strategies; to regard education and training development goals, tasks and solutions as central contents in development strategies, master plans, policies, programs and plans for all fields, with resources allocated accordingly.
To enhance the comprehensive and direct leadership role of Party organizations, particularly the role of the heads of Party Committees, in education institutions. School councils will not be established in public education institutions (except public schools operating under international agreements). To adhere to the principle that Party Committee secretaries concurrently act as heads of education institutions.
 |
| Selecting textbooks in preparation for the new school year__Photo: VNA |
Drastically reforming legal institutions, and creating specific and breakthrough mechanisms and policies for education and training development
To focus on improving legal provisions to promptly address institutional and policy bottlenecks; to improve the quality and effectiveness of lawmaking and law enforcement; to promote innovation and development facilitation in education and training. To strengthen decentralization and power delegation in association with resource allocation, increasing autonomy and accountability of education institutions coupled with effective inspection and supervision; to reduce the number of management agencies for education institutions, respecting the principle of linking professional management with personnel and financial management, intensifying training and further training for education administrators following the two-tier local government model. To establish an open, permeable education system that promotes lifelong learning and helps build a learning society.
To introduce specific and outstanding preferential policies for teachers and lecturers; to increase job-based preferential allowances for early childhood education and general education institutions to at least 70 percent for teachers, at least 30 percent for staff, and 100 percent for teachers in extremely disadvantaged, border, island and ethnic minority areas. To formulate appropriate policies to attract talented individuals other than teachers to participate in teaching and training in education institutions; to implement the concurrent full-time lecturer regime for qualified professionals working in public non-business units; to adopt mechanisms to encourage talented individuals to take charge of scientific research activities in education institutions.
To ensure full and comprehensive autonomy for higher education institutions and vocational education institutions regardless of their level of financial autonomy. To improve regulations on staffing, standards, conditions, recruitment and appointment procedures for professors, associate professors and holders of other lecturer titles in line with international practices and Vietnam’s reality, thereby empowering higher education institutions and vocational education institutions to decide on recruitment or hiring of lecturers, and appointment of foreign talents to leadership and management positions.
To fundamentally reform financial and investment mechanisms and policies for education and training. To allocate state budget funds to higher education institutions and vocational education institutions based on their mission, quality and performance under a single mechanism applicable to the entire education sector; to prioritize order placement and task assignment in key sectors and fields based on outcomes.
To reserve at least 20 percent of total state budget expenditures for education and training, of which at least 5 percent will be allocated for investment expenditures and at least 3 percent for higher education; to adopt a consistent policy to formulate and implement a new national target program on education and training modernization and quality improvement for the 2026-35 period, with priority given to higher education.
To increase financial support and preferential credit policies for learners, ensuring that no student drops out due to financial hardship. To formulate and implement a talent training scheme, prioritizing basic sciences, engineering and technology. To found a National Scholarship Fund and bring into full play other talent/learning promotion funds from the state budget and other lawful sources to promote learning and education development.
To raise standards for education institutions at all levels, specifying minimum land area requirements, technical regulations and standards aligned with regional and international benchmarks. To reserve cleared land areas and allow flexible land repurposing for education purpose; to focus on site clearance and allocation of cleared land areas for education and training projects. To give land use levy exemption and land rental or land tax reduction for domestic education institutions. Not to impose corporate income tax on public education institutions and private education institutions operating for not-for-profit purposes. To transfer working offices left unused after the rearrangement of administrative units to education institutions; to permit the lease of state-owned facilities to private education institutions.
To formulate mechanisms and policies to encourage organizations and enterprises to invest in education and training development; to strengthen public-private partnership; to expand cooperation and linkage among higher education institutions, vocational education institutions, research institutes, organizations and enterprises at home and abroad; to prioritize credit for education and training development projects. To establish a legal framework for the formation of foundations enabling education institutions to mobilize social resources.
Strengthening comprehensive education in ethics, intellect, physical fitness and aesthetics, forming the system of values of the Vietnamese people in the new era
To focus on improving the legal framework, mechanisms and policies to meet the requirements of education in ethics, dignity, and the system of standard values of the Vietnamese people in all spheres of political, economic and social life. To clearly define the role and responsibilities of, and coordination among, families, schools and society in educating ethics and dignity, and the system of standard values of the Vietnamese people; to heighten the responsibilities of state management agencies, Party Committees and local administrations at all levels.
To develop and concretize the value system of the Vietnamese people in the new era to be included in the curricula of all education levels. To persistently build a culture of learning, a culture of quality, real learning and real practice, associated with the exemplary responsibility of teachers; to attach importance to fostering professional ethics for teachers. To innovate teaching contents and methods, improving the quality and effectiveness of education in ethics, ideology, social responsibility, cultural lifestyle, historical traditions, thoughts, law, economics, finance, national defense and security. To implement solutions to prevent and mitigate negative impacts of the market mechanism, media and social networks. To prevent, push back, and strive to eliminate school violence and school drug use. To enact legal provisions to improve school nutrition and the physical wellbeing of the Vietnamese people.
Promoting comprehensive digital transformation, universalizing and intensely applying digital technologies and artificial intelligence in education and training
To formulate a data strategy to serve digital transformation and development of a national education platform applying artificial intelligence under control; to allocate sufficient resources for investment in physical facilities and technological infrastructure to accelerate digital transformation, universalization and application of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the management and organization of education and training activities at all levels nationwide.
To build smart education platforms and smart textbooks and teaching materials; to step up the application of science, technology and artificial intelligence in renewing teaching, learning, testing and assessment methods; to intensify the application of digital education, artificial intelligence education, smart education governance, digital school, and smart classroom models.
To develop a national education and human resource information system connected with the labor market and employment information system and enabling the provision of scientific, technological and innovation information of education institutions.
To raise digital and artificial intelligence competency standards for learners and teachers at all education levels, incorporating them into education programs linked with creative and experiential activities. To adopt policies to involve enterprises and higher education institutions in training teachers and learners in digital and artificial intelligence competency.
Focusing on building the teaching workforce and school infrastructure up to standards, improving the quality of early childhood education and general education
To pay attention to education of children from the earliest stages of their life, and prepare adequate conditions to universalize early childhood education among children aged three to five years.
To review and improve relevant standards and technical regulations to ensure adequate quantity, quality and structure of the teaching workforce; to allocate the sufficient payroll of teachers and staff in conformity with relevant standards; to improve the quality of training and further training of teachers and education administrators; to intensify the implementation of incentive policies to attract outstanding students for pedagogic discipline; to build official residences and create favorable conditions for teachers who work far from their homes.
To concentrate resources on solidifying and modernizing schools and classrooms; to ensure standardized facilities and equipment, paying special attention to practice rooms, STEM/STEAM experience spaces, playgrounds, and spaces for physical training. To complete the network of boarding general schools in ethnic minority, disadvantaged and border areas before 2030; to expand pre-university training systems for ethnic minority and mountainous students. To ensure that each province or city has at least one specialized education institution up to the upper secondary education standards.
To attach importance to education in ideology, traditions, ethics, physical fitness, aesthetics, career orientation and soft skills; to increase the time volume for science, technology, informatics and arts; to include digital competency and artificial intelligence knowledge in general education curricula. To review and assess the implementation of the general education program; to apply a unified single set of textbooks nationwide, striving to provide free textbooks to all students by 2030. To shift to modern, active education methods, strengthening self-study, creative experiences and independent thinking, and improving problem-solving ability; to further reform testing and assessment methods to ensure proper evaluation of teaching and learning outcomes; to synchronously implement solutions to address uncontrolled extra teaching and learning activities.
To renovate the model of specialized schools and gifted schools that will focus on incubating national talents; to expand specialized STEM/STEAM classes. To strengthen foreign language teaching and learning, gradually making English the second language in schools, and teaching languages of neighboring countries. To raise English proficiency standards for teachers and students at all education levels; to ensure the adequate number and qualifications of teachers, physical facilities and technology, strongly applying artificial intelligence in English teaching and learning; to increase teaching of subjects in English where conditions permit.
Reforming and modernizing vocational education, creating breakthroughs to develop a highly skilled human resources
To focus on developing the system of vocational education institutions; to reorganize existing vocational education institutions to be streamlined, efficient and standardized; to select and upgrade education institutions that efficiently operate, giving priority to modernizing a number of high-quality colleges up to international standards. To decentralize local administrations to manage vocational education institutions.
To reform the vocational education model, adding an intermediate-level vocational education that is equivalent to the upper secondary level; to drastically renew curricula, training methods, technology applications and quality governance to ensure efficiency and substantive outcomes up to international standards. To improve mechanisms and policies to promote school-business linkage, strengthen company-based training to meet labor market demands, particularly occupational skill training for hi-tech sectors. To use state budget funds for order placement and task assignment for training vocational education teachers and lecturers.
To prioritize state budget funds for training highly skilled workers in engineering and technological fields and in support of national strategic and key programs and projects. To formulate and implement high-quality vocational training programs for ethnic minority groups in appropriate occupations.
To adopt policies to involve experts and highly skilled workers in teaching and instructing occupational skills. To encourage enterprises to establish vocational education institutions. To adopt a mechanism for enterprises to found human resource training funds, thereby promoting enterprises’ participation in retraining and upskilling the workforce.
Modernizing and elevating higher education, creating breakthroughs to develop highly qualified human resources and talents, and leading research and innovation
To expeditiously formulate a strategic framework for higher education development. To reorganize higher education institutions; to merge or dissolve higher education institutions that fail to meet standards; to eliminate the intermediary levels to ensure streamlined, unified and effective governance; to consider the merger of research institutes with higher education institutions; to strengthen the state management of higher education institutions, and consider transferring certain universities to local authorities for management in order to improve management efficiency and better meet local needs for human resource training.
To modernize technical infrastructure and expand development spaces for highly-performing higher education institutions. To upgrade physical facilities and laboratories, and build outstanding training and research centers in key higher education institutions and teacher training institutions. To make intensive investment and adopt specific and breakthrough mechanisms to develop three to five elite universities modeled as world-class research universities engaged in national talent training. To prioritize budget funds for scientific research, particularly basic research, linked with postgraduate training at higher education institutions.
To promote the planning and building of hi-tech university towns; to facilitate the development of higher education institutions modeled as innovative universities and next-generation technology universities, positioning them as core drivers in regional innovation ecosystems; to support the cooperation between the State, schools and businesses. To adopt mechanisms to support lecturers and learners in implementing startup and innovation projects and founding spin-off companies and startup companies.
To expand lecturer training programs and schemes, with increased support for lecturers pursuing advanced studies at home and abroad. To formulate programs to attract excellent foreign lecturers with outstanding incentives.
To drastically reform curricula in conformity with international standards; to integrate data analytics into artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship into innovation. To support the expansion of talent training and postgraduate training programs linked with scientific research and innovation in basic sciences, engineering and technology, particularly strategic technologies, priority technologies of Industry 4.0, and industries serving national key projects. To link training with research, science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation.
To formulate a scheme for reforming university admission toward accurately assessing learner competency, ensuring consistent control of input standards in all disciplines and training institutions, and strictly monitoring of output quality. To enhance the quality management in tandem with appropriate support policies for doctoral training and training in pedagogy, health and law, and other key disciplines; to apply stricter regulations on doctoral studies for cadres and civil servants.
Promoting intensive international cooperation and integration in education and training
To diversify and deepen international cooperation mechanisms in education, training and scientific research. To increase the application of international standards in the national education system in line with Vietnam’s conditions and circumstances. To promote the negotiation and conclusion of agreements on cooperation in education, training, science and technology; to join international quality assurance and education development organizations. To grant scholarships for, or apply policies to encourage and support, students and lecturers to study, research or teach in the developed countries, countries with traditional relations with Vietnam, and countries with strengths in key sectors and fields, making the best use of bilateral cooperation programs.
To improve mechanisms and policies to effectively support higher education institutions to enter into cooperation with reputable universities and big enterprises abroad, especially in key fields and emerging technologies; to promote cross-border digital education cooperation. To attract more foreign investment in higher education and vocational education; to promote cooperation to establish joint training institutions and research institutes with Vietnamese partners. To enhance the quality management, ensure cultural security, and promote the education of Vietnamese language, history, culture, geography and people in foreign-invested education institutions and programs. To encourage and support Vietnamese education institutions to set up their divisions or representative offices or implement education programs abroad; to expand cooperation in teaching Vietnamese and disseminating Vietnamese cultural and traditional values abroad, especially among the overseas Vietnamese community.- (VLLF)
