Let education and training decide the future of the nation

The Politburo has just issued Resolution 71 on breakthroughs in education and training development with the opening viewpoint: "Deeply and fully understand and consistently implement the viewpoint that education and training is the top national policy, deciding the future of the nation".

10th grade students of Marie Curie High School (HCMC) came to school to listen to the regulations and take photos for their profile on the afternoon of August 27 - Photo: TTD

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (member of the Culture and Social Committee, deputy of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Phong City ) said this viewpoint is very noteworthy, showing a completely new awareness, unprecedented in previous resolutions.

The viewpoint clearly shows the elevation to a new level, bringing awareness to education and training is not just a slogan but needs to be realized by concrete actions.

Removing cost barriers, creating equal opportunities for all children

Delegate NGUYEN THI VIET NGA

* According to you, what needs to be done in the coming time, how to prepare resources to clearly demonstrate that education and training will decide the future of the nation?

- To effectively implement this new perspective, there are three key groups of tasks that need to be deployed urgently and effectively.

Firstly, with financial resources, it is necessary to prioritize the budget for education , at the same time strongly mobilize social resources, combining State resources with other legitimate socialized sources.

The resolution clearly states that 20% of the total budget revenue is allocated to education.

However, this 20% figure is not simply a matter of providing the education sector with that amount of funding each year, but requires meticulous calculations by the authorities ( Ministry of Finance ) on the budget for education, synthesizing from many different ministries and sectors, and different national target programs.

With limited national resources, it is necessary to calculate accurately and appropriately so that investments can both maximize efficiency and avoid waste.

Second, about human resources. It is necessary to improve the quality of teachers and lecturers, have policies to attract talents and experts from home and abroad in a truly outstanding and attractive way.

Only then can we improve the quality of education as expected. There cannot be a developed education system without a team of good teachers and education experts.

Third is about system management. We must innovate management, be transparent, and put learners at the center. This is an element that is rarely mentioned, but it is one of the key factors for us to develop and innovate education in a period of strong scientific and technological development.

Grade 6 students of Go Vap Secondary School (HCMC) excitedly enter their new school - Photo: THANH HIEP

A free textbook series: humane and fair

* One content that has received much attention is that in the resolution's tasks and solutions, it mentions ensuring the provision of a unified set of textbooks nationwide, striving to provide textbooks free of charge to all students by 2030. What is your opinion on this content?

- The policy of providing free textbooks to all students by 2030 is very humane, ensuring consistency and fairness in access to education, helping to remove cost barriers, and creating equal opportunities for all children.

To do this, it is necessary to have an optimal production and printing mechanism, apply digital technology to reduce costs; have a fair distribution system; have a reasonable budget source, combined with socialization to ensure financial sustainability.

Also, to effectively put the textbook policy in the resolution into practice, it is necessary to pay special attention to some contents.

The compilation process must be transparent, with the broad participation of scientists and teachers and fully reviewed by society. This helps the book series avoid errors, ensuring scientific quality and practical relevance.

Along with that, it is necessary to build an independent and objective appraisal mechanism, avoiding formalities or rigid "framing". Appraisal must aim for quality, not just stop at "legalizing procedures".

Secondly, the implementation must be consistent from training teachers, ensuring facilities to supporting localities with difficulties. Only then will the book series truly come to life, without causing additional pressure on parents, students and teachers.

Regarding the roadmap, it is necessary to implement each step firmly, with piloting and summarizing before expanding.

Regarding the evaluation criteria, in addition to the quality of knowledge, it is necessary to pay attention to the suitability with the students' ability to absorb, the feasibility in teaching and especially the level of social consensus. When these criteria are achieved, the unified textbook set will become an effective tool to contribute to improving the quality of education, in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 71 of the Politburo.

Preschool and general education are the "roots" of the national education system.

* The guiding viewpoint states that preschool and general education is the foundation for personality formation, development of qualities and abilities of learners. In your opinion, what additional solutions does the education sector need to implement this?

- Preschool and general education are the "roots" of the entire national education system.

This is the stage not only to equip knowledge but more importantly to form personality, nurture qualities, practice life skills, and create a foundation for comprehensive human development.

To do this, the education sector needs to innovate educational content and methods.

Accordingly, it is necessary to continue shifting from a teaching method that focuses on memorization to teaching how to think and how to solve problems.

The curriculum must be closely linked to practice, helping students apply knowledge to life, while nurturing love for their homeland, civic awareness and spirit of international integration.

At the same time, strong investment must be made in the teaching staff, and preschool and primary school teachers must truly be considered the core force.

In addition to improving professional qualifications, we need to focus on fostering pedagogical skills and psychological and educational skills so that they are capable of nurturing and guiding students from the earliest years of life.

Besides, there must be a satisfactory remuneration policy, especially for teachers in remote areas, so that they can feel secure in their profession.

Another solution is to strengthen the coordination between school, family and society. The formation of students' personality and character cannot be left to the school alone, but requires close cooperation from parents and society.

Schools need to regularly communicate with parents, listen and cooperate in educating children. At the same time, the community and organizations also need to participate in creating a healthy and safe environment, helping children develop harmoniously in terms of intelligence, body and soul.

If these things can be done, preschool and general education will become a solid launching pad to form a generation of Vietnamese citizens who are both knowledgeable and have ethics, personality and social responsibility.

Some specific objectives of the resolution

By 2030

- Expand equitable access and improve the quality of preschool and general education to reach advanced levels in the Asian region.

- Complete universal preschool education for children from 3 to 5 years old and compulsory education through junior high school.

- The rate of workers with college or university degrees or higher is 24%.

- The rate of students studying basic sciences, engineering and technology reaches at least 35%, including at least 6,000 graduate students and 20,000 students studying talent programs.

- Recruit at least 2,000 excellent lecturers from abroad.

- Strive for at least 8 higher education institutions to be in the top 200 universities in Asia, and at least 1 higher education institution to be in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings...

By 2035

- Completed high school education or equivalent.

- Strive for at least 2 higher education institutions to be in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings...

Vision 2045

- Vietnam has a modern, equitable and high-quality national education system, ranked among the top 20 countries in the world.

- All people have the opportunity to learn throughout their lives, improve their qualifications, skills and develop their personal potential to the fullest.

- Strive for at least 5 higher education institutions to be in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings...

Candidates excited after taking the 2025 high school graduation exam - Photo: NAM TRAN

* Delegate TRAN KHANH THU (Hung Yen):

Create new mechanisms to encourage learning and support students

I am particularly impressed with the resolution's consensus on the policy of building and implementing the new National Target Program on modernization and improving the quality of education and training for the 2026-2035 period; prioritizing investment in higher education.

This most clearly demonstrates the Party's guiding viewpoint on the role and responsibility of education and training; considering education and training as the top national policy, the driving force and extremely important foundation for development, deciding the future of the country and nation in the new period.

Second, the establishment of a national scholarship fund, while promoting the effectiveness of other funds for encouraging talents and learning from the state budget and other legal sources, is a new mechanism to encourage learning and support students, especially those in remote areas.

In addition, the resolution also sets long-term strategic goals such as building a modern education system that deeply integrates with the world.

The emphasis on comprehensive education - combining knowledge, skills, ethics and physical fitness - demonstrates a deep concern for training Vietnamese people to develop harmoniously, creatively and courageously.

Policies to improve the lives and incomes of teachers, focus on education in disadvantaged areas, and universalize education to all age groups also demonstrate fairness and humanity in access to education.

The resolution promotes autonomy, innovation, proactive creativity in each school and each teacher and encourages the application of new scientific and technological achievements in teaching to improve quality.

For the resolution to truly come into effect, it requires strong determination from the whole society, synchronous participation from all sectors and levels, and a strong change in thinking from management to teachers and students.

Organizing implementation, checking, monitoring and ensuring sufficient resources are also significant challenges.

However, if Resolution 71 is seriously implemented, it will contribute to creating a breakthrough for Vietnamese education, bringing the country closer to advanced education systems in the world as desired by the entire people and as decided by the Party and State.

* Delegate NGUYEN THI MAI HOA (Vice Chairwoman of the Committee on Culture and Society):

Good news about income for teachers

I think the breakthrough considered strong in this resolution is in the guiding viewpoint, awareness, and common thinking about education.

In which, consistently considering "education as the top national policy" but adding orientation to determine the importance of education "deciding the future of the country".

At the same time, another breakthrough is in defining autonomy for higher education and vocational education regardless of the level of autonomy.

Also in the resolution, the Politburo emphasized the need for special and outstanding preferential policies for teachers, and the development of appropriate policies to mobilize talented people from outside the industry to participate in teaching and training... which is good news for teachers and the education sector.

In fact, when building and passing the Law on Teachers, the regulation that teachers' salaries are ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale received many opinions expressing concerns about its feasibility.

However, with the requirements and solutions in Resolution 71 of the Politburo, this content has been resolved.

Therefore, it is necessary to quickly put the Law on Teachers into practice, actualize it through a specific salary scale system so that the policy can take effect immediately. At the same time, review and build a team of qualified teachers and school staff.

* Dr. Tran Thanh Hai (Principal of Far East College):

Vocational schools have a chance to break through

Resolution 71 of the Politburo this time is a very strong shift in thinking towards vocational education.

For the first time, the solutions are very clear: restructuring the vocational school system towards streamlining and efficiency; developing facilities that meet international standards; and especially emphasizing the close connection between schools - businesses - localities.

I think this hits the biggest "bottleneck" that has long been training not really linked to the needs of the labor market.

What I find striking is that the resolution clearly defines the role of vocational education alongside university education, not as a "secondary" or "secondary choice".

Making vocational secondary schools equivalent to high schools and developing streams right after middle school will help students have more real choices, suitable to their abilities, not all of them have to go to university. This is a progressive viewpoint, approaching the trend of developed countries.

I also particularly agree with the specific mechanism and policies to develop the team of vocational teachers and attract experts and highly skilled workers to participate in teaching.

If there is a mechanism for engineers and experts from businesses to participate in vocational training, the quality of training will certainly change significantly. The investment budget for education is also an important basis for vocational schools to confidently develop in a modern direction.

I believe that the goals by 2030, 2035 and vision 2045 of building an international standard vocational education system and forming a highly skilled workforce are completely feasible if the solutions in the resolution are implemented synchronously.

THANH CHUNG - T.NHAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-giao-duc-va-dao-tao-quyet-dinh-tuong-lai-dan-toc-20250828084537962.htm