Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The situation of Vietnam’s education may be seriously worse both academically and morally than stated in a recent Ministry of Education report, suggested National Assembly (NA) members on Sept. 20.

The report was presented by the Minister of Education Nguyen Minh Hien during the opening meeting of the NA Standing Committee’s 22nd session in Hanoi. But, some NA committees that had also done research on Vietnam’s education later painted a gloomier picture of the country’s education.

According to the Ministry of Education report, 94 per cent of Vietnam’s population is literate, which is a high rate even compared to some more advanced countries. The report also pointed out the problems in the country’s education, including its overall low quality compared to people’s current needs, outdated teaching methods and pending corruptions.

But, a research among many voters and teachers by the NA Standing Committee's Department of People's Aspirations suggested that the situation was more alarming as Vietnam’s education lagged behind both academically and morally compared to other countries. This should be included in the government report and studied for solutions, said Nguyen Quang Binh, the committee vice chairman.

The Vietnamese education was 50 ranks below that of its neighboring country Thailand, the committee’s research report said. Some 6.8 million Vietnamese over 10 years old have never gone to school, and 5.3 million of them are “totally illiterate”, it said.

The number of valuable and practical research work by intellectual circles is also still very few, said the research report.

Moreover, school ethics have never been so seriously downgraded. Schools have been poisoned by drugs, pornography and violence, it added.

Another investigation report by the NA Standing Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children tackled the two serious problems of cheating and ‘over-teaching’ in the country’s education which have both become so widespread in “every locality and education level,” said the committee’s vice chairman Nguyen Dinh Huong.

Students cheating in exams and bribing teachers for passing grades, once considered a disgrace, have now become a “norm” to many people, said the investigation report. “When parents can buy themselves certificates, it’s natural that they can buy their children’s good marks,” it stressed bluntly.

These corruptions have caused “extremely serious degradations” in the social ethics and human dignity, said Mr. Huong.

As well, NA members and the committees complained about the ministry report’s lack of strategies for educational development.

A strategy for educational development should have been a salient feature in the report as it is in fact, “the strategy of human resources, [and] the most comprehensive solution,” complained NA Deputy Chairman Nguyen Van Yeu.

The NA Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children had suggested such a strategy be included in the report, but, the cabinet’s report only brought forward six “solutions” to raise the education quality and did not mention the issue.

During the session, the NA Standing Committee is also scheduled to comment on ten draft laws, including the draft Education Law (revised), draft Trade Law (revised), draft Electricity Law and a project on a Law on the issuance of legal documents by people's councils and people's committees.

Reported by Manh Quan – Translated by The Vinh.
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 21 September, 2004, 02:08:29 (GMT+7)
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