Organizing teaching and learning and implementing movements must be substantial, avoiding the situation of 'leveling'.

Complete the "dual" goal

The 2021-2022 school year is the second year that the education sector has implemented the 2018 General Education Program. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has re-emerged and its complicated developments have severely affected the sector's activities. Therefore, the school year plan has been disrupted, and the education program and content have had to change to only the core. Nearly 20 million students have had to temporarily stop going to school, switch to online learning, and study via television for many consecutive months, and over 70,000 students have not been able to graduate on time.

The year-end conference was held online. The main bridge was chaired by comrades: Vu Duc Dam - Deputy Prime Minister; Nguyen Kim Son - Minister of Education and Training. At Nghe An bridge, there were comrades: Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Thai Van Thanh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Director of the Department of Education and Training chairing the conference. Photo: Education Times newspaper

Faced with the above reality, the education sector has proactively changed its operating status, flexibly organized teaching and learning according to the school year plan, guided the streamlining of the program, prepared conditions for online teaching and learning to limit the negative impacts of the epidemic, and persistently pursued the goal of quality. At the end of the school year, the entire sector completed the dual goal: both preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic and striving to overcome difficulties, completing the school year's tasks, meeting the requirements of innovation and ensuring the quality of education and training.

The quality of general education, both general and advanced, continues to improve, and is recognized and highly appreciated internationally. According to the USNEWS ranking of the best countries in education in 2021, Vietnam ranked 59th, up 5 places compared to 2020. The results of the 2022 regional and international Olympic competitions, with 37/39 candidates winning prizes, including 1 candidate with a perfect score.

Delegates attending at Nghe An bridge. Photo: My Ha

Speaking at the conference, representatives from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Ca Mau and many universities made many suggestions.

In particular, focusing on issues such as: policies to support students in difficult circumstances; allowing the signing of labor contracts with professional staff; removing difficulties in building national standard schools; teacher shortage; need for appropriate and attractive policies and regimes for foreign language and information technology teachers, school health workers, clerks, cashiers and accountants, and teachers of music and fine arts.

Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long expressed his agreement with the report on the results of the implementation of tasks in the 2021-2022 school year and the key directions and tasks for the 2022-2023 school year of the Education sector presented by the Ministry of Education and Training. At the same time, he highly appreciated the drastic, synchronous, timely and creative direction of the Ministry in the past school year.

Comrade Bui Dinh Long speaks at the conference. Photo: My Ha

In the 2021-2022 school year, Nghe An Education and Training has also contributed to the overall achievements of education nationwide. In particular, it has resolutely advised on many documents, including 1 Resolution of the Provincial Party Standing Committee; 6 Resolutions of the Provincial People's Council and issued 9 Decisions and Plans of the Provincial People's Committee; implemented policies and strategies to support Nghe An education to develop breakthroughs in the period 2021-2030. In particular, Nghe An is also the first province to issue a Decision approving the Strategy for sustainable development of education and training in Nghe An province to 2030, with a vision to 2045. During the school year, Nghe An also successfully piloted a model to ensure educational quality, contributing to sustainable development; maintaining its position in the top 5 provinces nationwide in terms of excellent students.

At the conference, comrade Bui Dinh Long also requested the Government, the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant ministries and branches to continue to issue and deploy mechanisms and policies to effectively implement Resolution No. 88 on innovation of the General Education Program and textbooks. There should be policies to ensure the quantity and quality of the teaching staff; invest in facilities and teaching equipment according to new standards, meeting the 2018 General Education Program.

In addition, special attention should be paid to programs and policies on education, training of human resources, and high-quality human resources for digital transformation. Comrade Bui Dinh Long also hopes that the Government will have a pilot mechanism for kindergartens, autonomous public high schools, and boarding high schools for ethnic minorities in districts of ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

Education must be substantial.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam praised the efforts of the entire sector in completing the tasks of the 2021-2022 school year. This is a difficult year for the education sector due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. "We appreciate the contributions of the team of teachers and students who have participated in educational work."

Assessing the current education work, the Deputy Prime Minister also frankly stated that "the education sector still has many shortcomings" and is still struggling with issues of exams, textbooks, extra teaching and learning...

Delegates participating at Nghe An bridge. Photo: My Ha

Emphasizing that education is a continuous process that always requires innovation, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested the education sector to continue to closely follow the contents of Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW on fundamental and comprehensive innovation of education and training, meeting the needs of industrialization and modernization in the conditions of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration.

The Deputy Prime Minister also mentioned the current problem of teacher shortage. Therefore, the industry and localities need to proactively propose to relevant departments and sectors to arrange enough teachers for schools, avoiding the situation of one class being too crowded or not being able to organize 2 sessions/day. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of facilities in each commune and district and on that basis have a long-term planning orientation.

Representatives of departments, branches and sectors attended the online conference. Photo: My Ha

The Education sector also needs to resolutely coordinate with the Ethnic Committee to propose teaching plans for ethnic minority students in the form of boarding or semi-boarding. This is the basis for improving the quality of teaching in mountainous districts and must be done persistently over a long period of time.

The Education sector needs to continue to resolutely innovate state management. The Ministry must mobilize the strength of the entire political system and society to improve the quality of education. To do so, it is necessary to innovate from state management, innovate governance in both high schools and universities. It is necessary to build a cultural and democratic environment in schools. The construction of standard schools and other criteria must be substantial and serious, checking extra teaching and learning, testing, grading, reference books in the spirit of "voluntary", avoiding the situation of "equalizing" contributions.