Education Sector: A Year of "Bountiful Harvest"

(Baonghean)Recognizing the importance of education and training, the Nghe An education sector has implemented numerous solutions to improve the quality of its workforce and invest in infrastructure, contributing to enhanced teaching and learning effectiveness. Building on these achievements, the education sector will continue to focus on improving the quality of education at all levels. This will be concretized through various solutions aimed at successfully implementing Central Resolution No. 8 on "Fundamental and Comprehensive Reform of Education and Training," contributing to socio-economic development.

Provincial leaders and the Department of Education and Training awarded prizes to students who achieved high scores in the 2013 university and college entrance exams.

In the 2012-2013 academic year, the Nghe An Department of Education and Training continued to receive the Excellent Emulation Flag from the Ministry of Education and Training. This was a recognition of the efforts of the staff and teachers in the province in implementing major campaigns and emulation movements of the education sector. The entire sector promoted the implementation of "Studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh" according to Directive No. 03-CT/TU of the Politburo and Plan No. 19-KH/TU of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee; effectively implemented the campaign "Every teacher is a shining example of morality, self-study and creativity". Nghe An province was ranked excellent by the Ministry of Education and Training in the national summary of the 5-year implementation of the emulation movement "Building friendly schools, active students", held in August 2013.

In the overall achievements of the sector, the Party committees at all levels played a crucial role in directing and organizing the implementation of projects, programs, plans, and objectives of the Resolution of the 17th Provincial Party Congress and the 14th Party Congress of the Department of Education and Training. Notable achievements include: leading the work of advising the Provincial People's Committee on the approval of the Nghe An Education and Training Development Plan for the period 2011-2020 and its implementation; directing the development and appraisal of the school development plan for the 2013-2014 school year; continuing to direct the implementation of the school network plan for the period 2010-2015 according to the plan approved by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 71/2009/QD-UBND dated August 11, 2009; and the Project on Universalization of 5-Year-Old Preschool Education for the period 2010-2015 in Nghe An province.

The leadership organized inspections, provided guidance, and urged localities to accelerate the implementation of criteria, especially directing the elimination of 617 temporary classrooms, ensuring that Nghe An would achieve the standard before 2015. By the end of 2013, inspections had been conducted and recommendations were made to the Provincial People's Committee to recognize 10 districts as having achieved the standard for universal preschool education for 5-year-old children; a plan for teaching and learning foreign languages ​​in Nghe An province for the period 2010-2020 was developed. In the 2012-2013 school year, the entire province had 325 students who achieved high results in various exams and were commended and awarded by the Provincial People's Committee, including: 2 students winning regional Asian awards, 73 national excellent students, and more than 264 students who were top scorers or achieved high marks in university and college entrance exams.

Over the years, implementing the "Strengthening School Buildings and Constructing Housing for Teachers" project, the Education sector has closely coordinated with departments, agencies, Party committees, and authorities at all levels to effectively carry out the project. The system of ethnic boarding and semi-boarding schools has been strengthened; most classrooms have been reinforced; basic equipment is sufficient to serve the requirements of educational activities; and the teaching staff has received basic training... This has actively contributed to upgrading school facilities, leading to the steady development of general education in the mountainous and ethnic minority areas of the western districts of Nghe An province.

With the support of the State through policies for students in mountainous and ethnic minority areas, and the efforts of teachers and parents, the mobilization of students in highland areas to attend school has yielded good results. The dropout rate among students in mountainous and ethnic minority areas has decreased significantly, with many primary schools in these areas having no dropouts for the past 5 or 6 years. Many schools in mountainous areas have actively innovated teaching methods, and the quality of education in these regions has improved rapidly and noticeably. In competitions and events organized by the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, many teams and students from mountainous and ethnic minority areas have won first and second prizes.

Entering the 2013-2014 school year, the Party Committee of the Department of Education and Training unanimously agreed to focus on directing the implementation of important contents: Emphasis on rationally developing the scale and improving the quality of education, developing human resources, promoting the "good teaching, good learning" emulation movement, implementing breakthrough and long-term solutions to develop the education and training sector, focusing on four key tasks: improving the effectiveness and efficiency of management; improving the quality and effectiveness of educational activities; developing the teaching staff and management personnel; increasing investment resources and reforming the financial mechanism. Regarding professional work, the focus was on organizing and implementing teaching tasks at all levels; leading the provincial-level excellent teacher competition in the preschool education sector and the vocational training competition; continuing to lead and organize the implementation of campaigns and emulation movements such as "Building friendly schools, active students"; and building national standard schools at all levels and grades. Leading the implementation of the "Literacy Eradication - Universal Education" project. The Department advised the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee to issue a Resolution on Education and Training to implement Resolution No. 8 of the Central Committee (11th term) on fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization. Continuing to implement activities under Directive 03 CT/TU of the Politburo, Plan No. 19 KH/TU of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, and the guidance of the Party Committee of the Bloc on promoting the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's moral example. Focusing on solutions to improve the leadership capacity of Party committees and branches, emphasizing the improvement of the quality of Party branch and committee activities, linked with improving the quality of education and training.

One of the key factors contributing to improving the overall quality of education is the quality of the teaching staff. Recognizing this, the Department of Education and Training has advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue many important policies and guidelines to implement the directives of the Government and the Ministry of Education and Training. In addition, the department has implemented many solutions to improve the quality and ethical conduct of its staff and teachers. Particular emphasis is placed on the professional competence and ethics of teachers… The department is promoting the application, compilation, and writing of innovative teaching experiences, creating teaching aids, and conducting scientific research, striving to increase the percentage of excellent teachers, aiming for comprehensive and in-depth training quality that meets the requirements of educational development in the era of integration and development.

The "library" garden - an effective model at Yen Son Primary School - Do Luong.

Another important issue is encouraging self-learning and self-improvement among teachers, especially through innovative teaching methods that integrate and interdisciplinary approaches, paying attention to both Information Technology and Foreign Languages. Annual thematic training should be strengthened for teachers in certain regions, particularly in mountainous areas. With the preparation for implementing curriculum and textbook reforms after 2015, and the fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training as outlined in Central Resolution 8 (11th Congress), self-learning and self-improvement among teachers and education administrators has become a vibrant movement, contributing to improved teaching quality.

In modern education, teachers must constantly update their knowledge and teaching methods. To have excellent students, we must have excellent teachers. Besides professional competence, the most important thing is the teacher's character; each teacher must truly be a shining example for students to follow… Therefore, the education sector always focuses on training teachers in knowledge, skills, and professional ethics. With the goal of "All for our beloved students, treating students as if they were our own family," this is the guiding principle of the entire Nghe An Education sector.

Nguyen Son