 |
| The rate of students in ethnic minority and mountainous areas going to school is increasing day by day. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Ethnic minority and mountainous areas account for three-quarters of the country's natural area with large areas, fragmented terrain, steep slopes, harsh climates, and difficult transportation.
Accounting for 14.6% of the country's population, ethnic minorities are scattered and their lives still face many difficulties. Difficulties and characteristics of nature, economy and society have a significant impact and influence on the development of education and training.
Special attention of the Party and State
In recent years, the cause of education and training in ethnic minority and mountainous areas has received special attention from the Party and the State. The policies and guidelines for ethnic minority and mountainous areas have been institutionalized into legal documents and implemented seriously and promptly, meeting the requirements of education and training development, and have been approved and supported by the people.
In addition to the stable policies of the State, there are also programs, plans and projects on educational development in disadvantaged areas. Organizations and individuals all give priority to supporting education and training in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
Thanks to that, the education and training career in ethnic minority and mountainous areas has had significant changes. The system of educational facilities from kindergarten to high school has been consolidated and developed. Communes in remote areas, areas where ethnic minorities live scattered, and difficult terrain also have kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools, all districts have at least 2 high schools or more, meeting the learning needs of ethnic minority children.
The rate of students attending school has increased, while the number of students repeating grades and dropping out has decreased. The scale of general education has gradually stabilized. Localities in ethnic minority and mountainous areas have completed the basic goals of universal education. The quality of mass and key education has been improved through each school year.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, in the 2022-2023 school year, the total number of schools in the ethnic minority and mountainous regions (including the provinces of the Northern Midlands and Mountains, Central Coast, Central Highlands and Southwest) is 20,495 schools, 329,280 classes and 10,145,199 children and students.
The rate of students graduating from junior high school and high school has increased significantly each year. The specialized education system (boarding schools for ethnic minorities, semi-boarding schools for ethnic minorities, and university preparatory schools) has increasingly demonstrated positive results.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training show that in the 2021-2022 school year, the rate of ethnic minority primary school students completing the primary program was only 0.27% lower than the national rate of primary school students completing the primary program. Meanwhile, the overall rate of junior high school students in ethnic minority and preschool areas graduating from junior high school was almost equivalent to the national rate (0.16% lower). Similarly, the overall rate of high school students in ethnic minority and preschool areas graduating from high school was almost equivalent to the national rate (0.24% lower).
The school system is increasingly expanding to meet the increasing learning needs of the people. The network of schools from kindergarten to primary, secondary and high schools is expanding and developing widely in residential areas. Schools and classrooms are built in remote villages, remote areas, and ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
Regarding continuing education, the scale and network of continuing education facilities in localities have basically remained stable over the years. Many centers have begun to diversify continuing education programs to meet the needs of people for regular and lifelong learning.
Regarding the ethnic boarding school system, the ethnic boarding school is always at the top in terms of education quality in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; the student population of the ethnic boarding schools basically meets the needs of creating a source of quality ethnic minority cadres and human resources for localities. Students of the ethnic boarding school enjoy scholarship policies, priority in accommodation arrangements at the school, and they have the right to choose to go home during the day or during the week depending on their conditions.
Currently, nationwide, there are 318 ethnic minority boarding schools in 48 provinces and centrally run cities with a scale of 101,847 students; there are 2 schools under the Ministry of Education and Training (Friendship School 80 and Friendship School T78) and 1 school under the Ethnic Committee (Viet Bac Highland High School) with the task of educating ethnic minority boarding students with a scale of more than 3,000 students.
In addition, facilities and teaching equipment in ethnic minority and mountainous areas are increasingly improved. The number of schools meeting national standards is increasing rapidly. In the 2022-2023 school year, the total number of classrooms in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is 309,436 with a solidification rate of 78.37%. The total number of classrooms is 69,709, reaching an average rate of 0.94 classes/classroom.
The recruitment system has significantly contributed to the training of qualified ethnic minority cadres in the locality. The policies and regimes for educational managers, teachers and learners who are ethnic minorities have been fully, promptly and in accordance with regulations. Thereby, it has encouraged teaching and learning, created equality in education, contributed to socio-economic development and stabilized political security in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
The above outstanding results have contributed to the implementation of the Party and State's major policies and guidelines on putting people at the center of development, so that no one is left behind. Thereby, helping ethnic minority and mountainous children go to school, reducing the dropout rate and attracting teachers to remote areas, areas with difficult socio-economic conditions; changing the awareness of educational managers, teachers, parents and students.
 |
| Ethnic minority and mountainous areas still need adjustments and additions to support policies for education and training development. (Source: chinhphu.vn) |
Continue to remove difficulties and improve training quality
Although the development of education and training in ethnic minority and mountainous areas has achieved many advances, there are still difficulties and shortcomings. Although the facilities and teaching equipment of educational institutions in ethnic minority and mountainous areas have been invested in, they still do not meet practical requirements. There are still temporary classrooms, lack of functional rooms, and minimal teaching equipment, affecting the quality of teaching and learning, especially the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program.
The structure of the teaching staff is still unbalanced between subjects at the same level of education, between regions with different socio-economic conditions; the surplus and shortage of teachers is common in many localities, especially teachers teaching new subjects (English, IT, music, fine arts), but is slow to be overcome; the quota for allocating teachers to localities is mostly lower than the actual demand.
In addition, some financial policies and mechanisms for education and training in ethnic minority and mountainous areas are not suitable and are slow to be revised and supplemented to suit reality. Local resources are still limited, affecting the financial guarantee for education. Resources to attract investment in education are not commensurate with potential; the level of resource mobilization between regions and localities is different.
In the context that ethnic minority and mountainous areas continue to face difficulties in economy, society, culture, education and health, many localities in ethnic minority and mountainous areas still need to adjust and supplement support policies for the development of education and training, while state resources are limited. Investment in the development of education and training in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is forecasted to continue to face difficulties.
Therefore, in the coming time, localities need to focus on building and perfecting policies for education and training in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; continue to review and perfect the arrangement of the network of educational institutions in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; improve the quality of ethnic education in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; increase investment in facilities and teaching equipment in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; develop the team of educational managers and teachers; strengthen the management of ethnic education; and fully implement the regime and policies for educational managers and teachers.
With the proper attention and determination of the entire political system, we believe that the future of universal education for 100% of ethnic minority and preschool areas will not be far away and each student in ethnic minority and preschool areas, the future buds of the country, can go to school with joy and happiness with a sparkling smile on their lips.
Source
Comment (0)