Joint efforts for the cause of human development
(Baonghean) - From 2013 to present, Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW VIII (11th tenure) on fundamental and comprehensive innovation of education and training has become the "backbone" for Nghe An education to continuously improve.
Besides the success, this innovation process is still facing many difficulties and challenges, requiring efforts from all levels, sectors, localities and the whole society.
Change in difficult areas
Developing a team of teachers to meet the requirements of innovation - that is the requirement and also the highlight of the success of the Nghe An Education sector in recent years, and each locality has its own way to effectively implement this requirement. In Ky Son district, the "assessment period" is a good policy of the Department of Education and Training, organized by schools at the beginning of the school year, to evaluate, arrange and re-arrange the team.
Teacher Doan Chi Trung - Principal of Bac Ly 2 Primary School said: Through each assessment period, the school will have a plan to improve the quality of teachers through professional activities, assign professional groups to mentor and train teachers or send teachers for further training in professional skills. From the assessment, teachers themselves will be aware of innovating and improving their teaching methods.
 |
| Teachers in disadvantaged areas light lamps to teach students. Photo: Dao Tho |
The “test” comes from the sad reality of Ky Son district: The quality of mass education is low; the number of students passing the university and college entrance exams is low; the number of managers and teachers is sufficient but the structure is unreasonable, the quality is low, many teachers are trained by selection. For example, in the 2013-2014 school year, the whole district still had 284/837 unqualified teachers, accounting for 33.9%, there were 125/468 secondary school teachers, accounting for 26.7%, trained by selection.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ky Son district said: Thanks to the exams, the quality of teachers has been improved. Up to now, the whole district has 59.6% of primary school teachers with university degrees, only 4.7% of primary school teachers have intermediate degrees; 87.8% of secondary school teachers have university degrees, only 10.9% have college degrees... Many weak teachers, unable to meet the requirements of the task, are assigned to other jobs such as service, library, school equipment. From the 2013-2014 school year to now, the district has transferred 31 teachers to service jobs, 8 people have retired due to not meeting the requirements. In the 2018-2019 school year, 22 teachers voluntarily asked to change jobs because they realized they could not meet the requirements of the task.
 |
| Students of Hoi Nga Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities during a Physics practice session. Photo: My Ha |
Besides developing the teaching staff, changing the school model system is also a bright spot and creates innovation, especially in difficult areas... Currently, Nghe An has 6 ethnic boarding secondary schools (PT DTNT THCS) with large-scale and spacious investment.
In addition, the province has also merged and established 33 ethnic boarding schools and 84 primary, secondary and high schools with ethnic boarding students... This new model not only mobilizes the maximum number of school-age children and maintains students' attendance, but also contributes to significantly improving the quality of education in mountainous areas.
In Que Phong district, Que Phong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities has become a bright spot in the district's education sector. In the past 3 years alone, the school has consistently ranked first in the district in terms of the percentage of excellent students at the district level. The school has 15 excellent students in the province, and more than 200/290 students have been recognized as excellent students and advanced students. The percentage of students admitted to the provincial Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities is always among the highest.
 |
| spacious dormitory for boarding students in Quy Chau. Photo: My Ha |
Over the past 5 years, effectively implementing educational innovation in the spirit of Resolution 29-NQ/TW, Nghe An province has had 228 more schools meeting national standards, bringing the total number of schools meeting standards as of June 30, 2018 to 1,043, reaching 68.66% (June 2013 reached 52.95%); 866 schools have been externally assessed and assessed, reaching 54.9%; the quality of universal education has achieved breakthrough results; the quality of general education has been firmly affirmed, the results of national and international excellent students have continuously ranked in the top 3 nationwide.
Nghe An is also a province that does a good job of streamlining. Therefore, in mountainous areas, the rate of secondary school students transferring to vocational training is from 50 - 60%. At the high school level, the number of students participating in the national high school exam but not wishing to apply for university or college has increased: in 2015, it was 37.2%; in 2016, it was 42.2%; in 2017, it was 37.3%.
In recent years, the industry's activities have also had many innovations, proactively and actively preparing conditions in terms of policies, orientations, staff, and facilities to approach the implementation of the new textbook program in the 2019-2020 school year with the main goal of developing the qualities and capacities of learners and human resources.It is noteworthy that autonomy is decentralized to educational institutions and teachers in deciding on program distribution and classroom organization in accordance with the learner-centered orientation.
Implement integrated and interdisciplinary teaching topics; integrated teaching, life skills education, life values in subjects; enhance experiential activities, practical applications, deploy educational models in schools associated with local production and business practices; actively participate in science and technology competitions.
Innovating the form, method, and technique of teaching and assessment in the direction of developing students' capacity... The network of vocational education institutions is also increasingly consolidated, the scale and quality of training are gradually improved, initially meeting the demand for technical human resources for the labor market both inside and outside the province.
 |
| Teacher and students discuss the lesson. Photo: HP |
Towards the bright spot, the center of the area
At the conference to review 5 years of implementing Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW recently organized by Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, subjective causes were clearly recognized: Some Party committees, authorities, agencies and units have not really considered innovation as a regular, long-term task, and have not been closely involved in leadership and direction; Some managers and teachers have limited capacity, so the approach to innovation cannot keep up in the current period; Limited resources, the scale and network of schools are too large, so the facilities of the schools still have many difficulties... This has hindered the innovation work, and the goal of striving for Nghe An to become a bright spot and center of education and training in the North Central region by 2020.
 |
| Preschool children in the highlands and toys made by teachers and parents. Photo: D.T. |
Also at the conference, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Xuan Son thoroughly grasped the spirit of educational innovation that Nghe An will focus on in the coming time: Party committees, authorities at all levels, agencies and units must uphold their responsibilities, identify education and training as the top national policy; investment in education is investment in development, given priority in socio-economic development policies and plans.
Continue to innovate educational management, increase autonomy and self-responsibility of units; overcome the disease of achievements and formalities in leadership, direction, and organization of educational and training work.
Implement specific solutions and direct resolutely to build a team of teachers with quality and appropriate structure; maintain and improve the quality of comprehensive education at all levels, the quality of universal education, and the streaming of students after graduating from secondary school.
Strengthening education on law, ethics, personality, and life skills for students. Coordinating well the implementation of 3 educational environments: school, family, and society. Paying attention to the work of encouraging learning, encouraging talents, and building a learning society... Comprehensive innovation in education requires efforts from all levels, sectors, localities, and the whole society.
