On the morning of November 18th, in Hanoi, on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day (November 20th, 1982 - November 20th, 2024), the Ministry of Education and Training, in coordination with Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the University of Economics (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), organized a meeting with representatives of teachers and educational administrators; and awarded the Third-Class Labor Medal to the University of Economics (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. General Secretary To Lam attended the meeting and delivered a keynote address. Vietnam Women's Newspaper respectfully presents the full text of the General Secretary's speech.
Hanoi , November 18, 2024
Distinguished leaders of the Party and State, leaders of ministries, departments, and agencies!
Dear teachers, students, distinguished guests, and all comrades!
Today, amidst the joyful and enthusiastic atmosphere of the entire education sector celebrating the 42nd anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day on November 20th, I am very pleased to attend this meeting with representatives of teachers, education administrators, and scientists. With all my deepest affection, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, I would like to extend my respectful greetings, heartfelt regards, and best wishes to all teachers and education administrators present here, as well as to all generations of teachers throughout the country. Congratulations to the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, on being honored with the Third-Class Labor Medal on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
Dear scientists, teachers, and colleagues!
Throughout the revolutionary process, the Party and State of Vietnam have consistently affirmed that education and training are top national priorities and the future of the nation; they have always paid special attention to and invested heavily in education, considering it an investment in development and prioritizing it over other fields. The history of the Vietnamese revolution shows that education and training play a particularly important role in the nation's remarkable development. The Popular Education Movement, with its wise policy of "compulsory literacy education free of charge," led by President Ho Chi Minh, fundamentally eradicated illiteracy in the plains, midlands, and mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam within 13 and 20 years respectively – a consequence of the French colonialists' policy of keeping the people ignorant. The achievement of eradicating illiteracy was the first and most fundamental foundation upon which the Vietnamese revolution rose to new heights, achieving one victory after another, liberating the nation, unifying the country, and achieving great accomplishments after 40 years of national renewal.
In the process of national renewal, the Party has focused its leadership and guidance on reforming education and training, achieving many positive results. The national education system has been gradually improved in an open direction, building a learning society; the scale and network of educational and training institutions have developed, better meeting the needs of people for continuous and lifelong learning. The whole country has completed universal education for 5-year-old children; universal primary and lower secondary education continues to be consolidated, maintained, and gradually meet higher standards. The quality of general education, both mass and specialized, has improved significantly and has been recognized internationally. Continuing education has developed diversely in content and form. Reforming higher education, coupled with increased autonomy, has been implemented, training is more closely linked to the needs of the labor market; scientific research and technology transfer have been promoted. International scientific publications have increased significantly, and more and more higher education institutions and academic disciplines are ranking highly in the region and globally.
The achievements and results mentioned above were made possible under the regular and close leadership and guidance of the Party and the State, the involvement of the entire political system and the whole population, and the unity, solidarity, and concerted efforts of the entire education sector, especially the team of teachers and education management officials—the force directly carrying out the glorious task of "nurturing people."
On behalf of the Party and State leaders, I warmly congratulate and commend the achievements made in educational reform and training over the past period by the entire education sector and the team of teachers and education management officials; I would like to express my sincere and profound gratitude and best wishes to all generations of teachers nationwide on Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20th.
General Secretary To Lam and delegates attending the meeting. Photo: Thong Nhat/TTXVN
Dear colleagues and teachers!
Besides the achievements, frankly speaking, educational and training reforms, although implemented for decades, have fundamentally failed to create strong, qualitative changes and have not met the expectations of the Party, the State, and the people. Human resources remain one of the three biggest bottlenecks today. Some long-standing limitations in education and training have not been definitively resolved, such as: The implementation of fundamental and comprehensive educational and training reforms has not been synchronized, lacks a systematic approach, and is still confusing. The quality of education at all levels remains limited; higher education still lags behind other countries in the region and the world; it is "heavy" on theory and "light" on practice; and there is a lack of close connection between training and scientific research, production and business, and market needs. Tens of thousands of graduates with bachelor's, engineering, and master's degrees cannot find jobs or work in fields unrelated to their training, not only causing significant waste but also clearly reflecting the limitations of education and training. Educational methods have not fostered the active participation and creativity of learners, nor have they focused on developing skills and qualities; the effectiveness of educational investment has not been commensurate with the principle that education is a top national priority. The shortage of schools and classrooms in some large cities, industrial zones, densely populated areas, and mountainous regions, as well as illiteracy and relapses into illiteracy in remote areas, is a serious concern. The teaching staff remains insufficient in number, a portion lacks professional competence, and some are not actively embracing innovation; a small number still exhibit ethical violations that negatively impact public opinion. State budget investment in education and training is not commensurate with the requirements of educational reform and development, while the socialization of investment resources still faces many difficulties.
General Secretary To Lam presents flowers to congratulate teachers and education administrators. Photo: Thong Nhat/TTXVN.
Dear colleagues and teachers!
The world is undergoing a period of epochal change, with increasingly fierce competition among major powers. Competition in the quality of human resources, which determines each country's development opportunities, is identified as the core element. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the formation of a knowledge-based economy and society, and the demand for a shift in economic models from extensive to intensive development, along with restructuring the economy towards quality, efficiency, and high competitiveness, have propelled educational reform into a global trend, and Vietnam cannot stand outside this trend. To achieve the strategic goals of the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding and the 100th anniversary of the nation's founding, and to lead the country into an era of progress, prosperity, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the world's leading powers, high-quality human resources continue to be identified as a strategic breakthrough by the 10th Central Committee Meeting of the 13th Party Congress, and educational reform is a strategic task and solution for the 14th Party Congress. The issues of human resources and educational reform are not new; they have been identified by our Party in documents from many Party Congresses, from the 11th Party Congress to the present. These challenges require the concerted efforts and strong determination of the teaching staff and education management officials to successfully implement these strategic tasks and breakthroughs. I would like to suggest the following three issues to you:
Firstly, the highest priority at present must be focused on achieving "the completion of the reform of education and training, and the goal of creating human resources for national construction and defense in the era of national progress during the 14th Party Congress term." There are four specific points: (i) Regarding the basis for setting the goal: Completing the reform of education and training from now until the end of the 14th Party Congress term is a difficult and challenging task, but drawing on the valuable lessons from the popular education movement, we can firmly believe that we will succeed with clear goals, intelligent policies, and creative approaches. The Central Propaganda Department, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training, should thoroughly study the popular education movement, based on the valuable lessons and current realities, and propose this matter to the Politburo. (ii) The top priority in achieving that goal is to focus on building socialist human beings. Focus on educating character, ethics, lifestyle, legal knowledge, and civic consciousness. Concentrate on the basic values of national culture, traditions, and ethics, the essence of human culture, the core and humanistic values of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, and the Party's platform and guidelines. Pay attention to teaching the spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities; teaching Vietnamese and disseminating national culture to Vietnamese people abroad. (iii) Regarding measures and methods for achieving the goal: Adhere closely to the viewpoint and goals of national development (we determine that rapid and sustainable national development is based mainly on science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and green transformation) to determine the needs and content of training, based on orders from each agency, unit, organization, and enterprise employing labor to the school; Closely integrate teaching and scientific research in higher and postgraduate education, where teachers are also scientists in their respective fields. Strongly innovate educational content and methods towards simplification, modernity, practicality, increasing the knowledge, skills, and qualities of learners, increasing practical application of knowledge to practice; focus on practical learning and combat the pursuit of achievements. Shift strongly from equipping students with knowledge as the main goal to teaching skills, teaching how to learn, and how to think as the main goal. (iv) Strive to improve Vietnam's education ranking on the regional and international education map, specifically by 2030 Vietnam will be among the top 3 ASEAN countries in terms of the number of international publications and the impact index of scientific research works; have a university in the Top 100 leading universities in the world.
Secondly, regarding some urgent tasks: (i) Develop solutions to completely eradicate illiteracy, especially in remote areas and among ethnic minorities. (ii) Launch a "digital literacy campaign." In reality, a large percentage of the population, including officials in state agencies, still lack a firm grasp of digital transformation; meanwhile, the Politburo has discussed and decided to issue a Resolution on national digital transformation. To successfully implement this Resolution, the urgent need to quickly disseminate basic knowledge about digital transformation to the entire population is pressing. (iii) Focus on reviewing and definitively resolving the shortage of schools and classrooms in some large cities, industrial zones, densely populated areas, and mountainous regions; strengthen school buildings and classrooms, while ensuring housing for teachers in remote areas and ethnic minority regions. (iv) Ensure that the state budget allocates at least 20% of the total state budget expenditure to education, in accordance with the Resolution set forth by the Party. Implement preferential mechanisms and policies to attract non-state resources to invest in the development of education and training. Rely on the people, mobilize the people's strength, and organize the people to participate in education with the lowest cost and maximum efficiency.
Thirdly, focus on building a team of teachers and education administrators who are virtuous and talented, passionate, enthusiastic, skilled, knowledgeable, capable of teaching, eager to learn, innovative, and truly exemplary for students to learn from and emulate; sufficient in number and balanced in structure. Research and propose mechanisms and policies for the deployment and rotation of teachers to address the localized shortage and surplus of teachers; attract talented individuals to the education sector and create motivation for teachers and education administrators to work with peace of mind, especially those working in mountainous areas, areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, and islands. Develop breakthrough solutions to cultivate a team of leading experts and scientists who work in the education sector while also contributing to other sectors and fields. Building a truly healthy learning environment requires close and regular coordination between schools, families, local authorities, and socio-political organizations; clearly defining the responsibilities of the school, the family, and society.
On behalf of the Party and State leadership, I would like to congratulate the achievements of the teachers, professors, and scientists throughout the years at Hanoi National University, contributing to the training of high-quality human resources and nurturing talent for the country, bringing the brand of Vietnamese higher education to the forefront in the region and the world. I hope that you will continue to build upon your achievements, maintain your mission as a cradle for training talented individuals and scientists; pioneer and lead the higher education system in international integration, striving to become a leading national scientific research center, progressing towards becoming a leading center in the region and internationally, a destination for cooperation with large domestic and foreign enterprises, and a place for incubating future science and technology enterprises.
General Secretary To Lam presents the Third-Class Labor Order to the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi on the occasion of the university's 50th anniversary. Photo: Thong Nhat/TTXVN
Dear teachers and colleagues,
President Ho Chi Minh instructed, "For the benefit of ten years, plant trees; for the benefit of a hundred years, cultivate people," and "Whether the Vietnamese nation can become glorious, whether the Vietnamese people can reach the pinnacle of glory to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents, depends largely on the learning efforts of our students." We are standing at the door of history to fulfill the aspirations of the great President Ho Chi Minh; we can only successfully fulfill his aspirations when and only when we successfully complete the task of reforming education and training. This glorious responsibility demands great efforts, a strong breakthrough, and the concerted efforts of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army, first and foremost and most directly the team of teachers and education management officials under the leadership of the Party.
I believe that, with a country and a people with a tradition of valuing learning and respecting talent; a dedicated and passionate team of teachers who are willing to sacrifice and commit to their profession; and the decisive and coordinated involvement of the entire political system and the entire education sector, we will overcome all difficulties and challenges, and successfully implement the reform of education and training.
Finally, I wish all teachers and education administrators good health, happiness, and much success in their work and lives.
Thank you very much.
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-goi-mo-3-van-de-lon-voi-cac-nha-giao-can-bo-quan-ly-giao-duc-20241118140948955.htm
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