Continuing the 10th Session, on the morning of November 25, the National Assembly discussed in groups the investment policy for the National Target Program on Modernizing and Improving the Quality of Education and Training for the 2026-2035 period.
Discussing in groups, National Assembly deputies said that building a separate National Target Program for the 2026-2035 period is extremely necessary to increase resource concentration, ensure inter-sectoral coordination and create a breakthrough for the education system in the next decade.
One of the important goals of the Program is to “make English the second language in preschool and general education institutions, with the milestone of 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2035”.
Delegate Doan Thi Le An (Cao Bang Delegation) commented: The Government's submission and the draft Resolution have set out the implementation timeline, specific goals, and implementation resources. Making English the second language in the education system is a correct and urgent vision. However, the delegate expressed concerns about the feasibility of this goal.
Delegates believe that this is a major orientation, demonstrating the determination to deeply integrate into the international community. However, to successfully implement it, it is necessary to frankly assess the conditions and challenges in terms of infrastructure, human resources and implementation environment, focusing on four groups of issues such as:
Regarding facilities - a prerequisite for teaching in English, delegates pointed out that the current difference in investment in facilities between regions is still very clear, such as in urban areas such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang City, there are many advanced schools, international schools, with models of teaching natural sciences in English. However, this number is mainly high-quality private or public schools, not representing the general education system.
Meanwhile, in rural areas in the delta, about 25-35% of schools still lack standard subject classrooms to implement online teaching and support English. Mountainous areas (for example, in Cao Bang province): Nearly 70% of general schools, when assessed, still do not meet standards in terms of technology equipment for foreign language learning; many remote schools in ethnic minority areas do not have solid classrooms, and investing in functional rooms for English is almost impossible in the short term...
In addition, the delegates also pointed out the current major “bottleneck” which is the severe shortage of English teachers, with many localities lacking thousands of qualified foreign language teachers. Thus, the target of 100% by 2035 is feasible in terms of policy, but requires a major reform in training, recruitment and compensation of teachers, especially teachers teaching subjects in English.
Citing mountainous areas, including Cao Bang province, where the percentage of ethnic minority students accounts for over 90%, while Vietnamese is still the second language, delegates assessed that requiring English as the second language in schools is extremely challenging.
Regarding the feasibility of the timeline, the delegate said that by 2030 it will be feasible with the condition of focusing on urban areas and deltas first. Building a pilot model of "key English schools" in mountainous provinces, but only central schools should be selected.
To achieve the above goal, the delegates recommended that the Drafting Committee study and promulgate the National Program for training teachers to teach subjects in English: the goal is to train at least 20,000 teachers of Mathematics-Natural Sciences-Informatics capable of teaching in English by 2035; increase investment in facilities for mountainous provinces; at the same time, have policies to attract high-quality English teachers such as increasing the attraction allowance to 70-100% of the basic salary for teachers in difficult areas, supporting housing, and committing to long-term contracts. On the other hand, develop a model of national digital English centers.
Sharing the same view, delegate Ma Thi Thuy (Tuyen Quang delegation) also wondered about the feasibility of the above-mentioned goal, especially for mountainous provinces, remote areas, and ethnic minority areas. The delegate said that the draft Resolution needs to continue to be studied and perfected in terms of goals and implementation mechanisms to ensure practicality.
In reality, many mountainous communes currently lack basic English teachers; information technology infrastructure and audio-visual equipment are still very limited, the delegate said that requiring 100% of educational institutions to have enough teaching equipment to implement English as a second language by 2035 is a very high goal, approaching that of developed countries. Therefore, the delegate suggested that the Government consider a specific roadmap for mountainous areas; promote the application of technology, connect online classes, AI to compensate for the lack of teachers; build English centers in difficult areas according to the inter-commune model.
Delegate Bui Sy Hoan (Hai Phong City Delegation) also pointed out barriers in teacher capacity and regional differences in English training.
The delegate analyzed: "Even foreign language teachers in many places are not yet qualified, not to mention teachers of other subjects who have to teach in English." Furthermore, according to the delegate, making a foreign language a second language is also related to the issue of cultural identity, so a profound change in social awareness is needed.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/can-nhac-lo-trinh-phu-hop-muc-tieu-dua-tieng-anh-thanh-ngon-ngu-thu-hai-post925701.html
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