On the morning of October 12, 2024, General Secretary and President To Lam attended the opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 school year at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture.
He reminded higher education institutions, including the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, to continue to implement university autonomy more substantially and at a new level.
Aspiration for power
That reminder is also a directive to realize the aspiration of our nation "to step up to the stage of glory to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents" that President Ho Chi Minh had longed for since the first school year of independent Vietnam. Uncle Ho's aspiration represents the aspiration of the entire nation, but to make it come true is not simple.
On the afternoon of November 5, 2023 in Hanoi, the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and Vietnam National University, Hanoi jointly organized a workshop on "Institutions and policies to improve the quality of university education". According to Minister Nguyen Kim Son, our university autonomy is the transformation of the school system from the subsidy period to the market, so it must change.
"This is a story of educational innovation through transformation. However, the legal regulations paving the way for university education autonomy have not been synchronized or shared with other education systems and legal systems," Mr. Nguyen Kim Son acknowledged.
Students of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (HCMC) on the opening day. Photo: Hoang Trieu
Besides, there are many other consequences from humans that make public opinion worried. Many people think that it is time to revive education.
In recent times, every morning when opening the official newspapers, we often see not so happy information about the education sector of our country. "Learn to be a teacher, act to be a model", meaning that from words to actions, teachers must be good examples not only for students to follow but also for everyone in society to look at and learn from. People can be good because of education, but can also be bad because of education.
The aspiration to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers is to make the Vietnamese people rich and strong, not only in material terms but also in spirit. Training capacity is of course necessary, but virtue is even more important - "A heart is worth three talents" (Kieu).
If you study, you must take the test.
I have a friend who has devoted his whole life to teaching. When something bad happened to a teacher, he hoped that public opinion "would not hurt the teaching profession".
No one does not respect the teaching profession. Teachers are also considered exemplary, that is, exemplary people for everyone to follow. They themselves hurt themselves, not anyone else, specifically through teaching and learning. For example, nowadays, there are subjects that are not tested but students have to study. When students neglect these subjects and are reprimanded by teachers, parents come to school to scold the teachers.
At the Government press conference on October 7, 2024, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong said that the ministry is studying ways to select the third subject for the 10th grade entrance exam. This year, it could be a social subject, next year a natural subject, the year after that another subject or by drawing lots. Teaching and taking exams, but also "drawing lots"?
The Ministry of Education and Training also said that the upcoming 10th grade exam plan is built on three core principles. The first principle is "not to cause pressure or expense; to reduce pressure on students, parents and society".
Studying and taking exams but wanting to "not cause pressure" or "reduce pressure" is also strange. Reality shows that bad talent is not related, no background is not related, as long as people try hard, everything can be achieved. Therefore, pressure is the lever to awaken potential. Students go to school to develop their intelligence, so why should they be afraid of pressure and want to reduce pressure? People have always said "study hard" but no one has ever said "study happily".
Regarding the "expensive" thing, I remember when I was in school - in the late 1960s, in the Baccalaureate I and II exams in the South, every subject that had been studied had to be tested. The three subjects of civics, history, and geography were multiple choice tests and many people passed thanks to the supplementary subject to make up for the main subject. By 1974, all the subjects in the Baccalaureate exam consisted of multiple choice questions, graded by IBM computers, so people called it "IBM Baccalaureate".
I believe multiple choice tests will be less expensive than essay tests. And, when every subject has to be tested, the teacher will always be respected by parents and students.
Honor is the highest virtue
Through the draft Law on Teachers and the latest submission, the drafting agency - the Ministry of Education and Training proposed exempting tuition fees for biological and legally adopted children of working teachers. According to calculations, the expected expenditure for this policy is about 9,200 billion VND per year.
This proposal has received much public attention. At the National Assembly forum, many delegates expressed disagreement.
Speaking to the press on October 10, 2024, delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, member of the Committee on Culture and Education, analyzed that teachers' salaries are currently very high compared to civil servants in other sectors. In addition to the basic salary level like civil servants in general, teachers also have seniority allowances and teaching allowances. If only calculating salaries and allowances, teachers' income is not low, even the highest in the salary scale.
Many people think that at this rate, children of doctors and nurses will be exempted from medical examination and treatment fees, children of transport officials will be exempted from transportation fees... However, this will give the government a headache because in society, according to the division of labor, there is no profession that is not noble.
Lao Tzu once said "Tri tuc gia phu" (knowing enough is a rich person). Buddha also taught "Tri tuc thuong lac" (knowing enough is happy). Since ancient times, when talking about teachers, we talk about virtue and wisdom. If a teacher lacks virtue and wisdom, how can he guide others? During his lifetime, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong once said: "What's the use of having a lot of money, you can't take it with you when you die. Honor is the most sacred and noble thing"...
Therefore, education must continue to be revived.
Doctors and teachers have always been respected by the world. Meanwhile, the entrance fee for the medical profession has never been lower than that for the teaching profession, and the study period is 6 years - 2 years more than the previous one, but after graduation, the salary is only equal to that of a 4-year bachelor's degree.
According to press reports, for special surgeries - such as simultaneous heart and liver transplants for one person at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital on October 1, 2024, the main doctor and the main anesthetist will only receive an allowance of 280,000 VND; the assistant surgeon and the assistant anesthetist will receive 200,000 VND. For type 1 surgeries, the main doctor will only receive an allowance of 125,000 VND...
Source: https://nld.com.vn/nghi-ve-chan-hung-giao-duc-196250122103244733.htm
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