According to Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh - former Director of the Department of Vocational Education (Ministry of Education and Training), teachers' income needs to be fully guaranteed so that they can work with peace of mind and dedicate themselves to their profession. Tuition exemption should not reduce the quality of teaching and reduce investment in necessary facilities.
Reporter of Dai Doan Ket Newspaper had an interview with Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh about this issue.
PV: To exempt tuition fees, the state budget must allocate about 30,000 billion VND each year. This is not a small number, sir?
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh: Financial issues and budget sources for education investment are common challenges that every country has to face. However, we should not abandon a humane policy that meets the aspirations of the people of the whole country because of difficulties. Therefore, in the coming time, we need to synchronously implement the following tasks so that the tuition-free policy can be implemented in a sustainable and long-term manner.
That is to cut down on regular spending, fight against waste, corruption, reform, and streamline the apparatus to save budget for investment in education and improve training quality. That requires the consensus and determination of the entire population in striving for a developed society, with education as the foundation.
Let's work together and hope that after 10-15 years, this policy will see clear results and will bear fruit with achievements and positive changes not only in education but also in the development of the country.
In the immediate future, I believe that the Politburo has made careful and thorough calculations based on the Government's report on the ability to mobilize resources from streamlining the payroll, optimizing administrative spending and other financial solutions. With a strong determination to utilize internal resources to invest in the future, I believe that this decision, instead of being a burden on the budget, will become a strategic reinvestment, bringing about the development and prosperity of the country in the future.
Besides the joy, there are still concerns that the free tuition policy for public schools will put more pressure on the public school sector, especially in urban areas, which is already very heavy, clearly shown in the 10th grade entrance exams, which are very competitive. Will the policy of student streaming after secondary school be affected, sir?
This is a reality that requires managers to have solutions to help reduce the burden on public schools, such as adding schools at all levels, including converting the function of facilities through the process of streamlining and merging. At the same time, it is necessary to continue researching and proposing better incentive policies to encourage and attract investment in the non-public education sector, helping to reduce the burden on the public sector, creating diversity for people to choose the appropriate educational environment for their children.
Regarding the issue of streaming, I think we need to reconsider the approach to this content in the national education system. We are currently separating the vocational education system from high school, leading to many parents worrying about not wanting their children to study vocational education. Meanwhile, many countries do not distinguish between high school diplomas and technical vocational secondary school diplomas. They open vocational training courses right at high schools with full and modern equipment, helping learners see the real benefits of vocational training and voluntarily stream without having to impose rigid quotas, causing dissatisfaction among parents and learners. We can refer to many countries such as Finland, Denmark... which have a very high rate of students participating in vocational training.
On February 28, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs handed over the state management function of vocational education to the Ministry of Education and Training to take over and organize implementation in accordance with current law. In your opinion, how does this affect the distribution of students after secondary school?
This is a major policy of the Party and the State, creating a unified and synchronous national education system. This is also an opportunity to adjust the Education Law and the Law on Higher Education.
Currently, vocational education and continuing education centers are operating under two different documents, Circular 05/2020/TT-BLDTBXH dated August 16, 2020 and Circular 01/2023/TT-BGDDT dated January 6, 2023, causing difficulties for these units in the process of operation. Meanwhile, as analyzed above, separating vocational education as a separate level of education in the national education system is not in line with international practice. Most countries consider vocational education to train professions as a training stream, integrated into other levels of education. Considering vocational education as a level of education to train elementary, intermediate and college levels has erased the boundary between vocational education and professional education, so the division of students after junior high school, high school and the connection from intermediate and college levels to university have many obstacles. Therefore, after vocational education is transferred to the Ministry of Education and Training, there will be better conditions for the division of students after junior high school. At present, we have exempted vocational secondary education fees. We need to continue to research and review so that the policy of exempting public school tuition fees continues to be effective in streaming.
Thank you very much!
The tuition exemption policy, which has been widely announced in the media in recent days, has received the welcome and excitement of all classes of people, from managers, teachers and parents. I believe that this decision is a popular decision, has social significance and strong influence. This is also a great motivation for schools and families to have more conditions to care for and invest in students' learning. This historic decision demonstrates the correct and accurate vision of the Party and Government, and marks an important milestone in the education career of our country. This decision has demonstrated the consistency in the Party and State's policy on investing in people, in accordance with the teaching of President Ho Chi Minh: "For the benefit of ten years, plant trees, for the benefit of a hundred years, cultivate people".
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/mien-hoc-phi-tai-dau-tu-chien-luoc-10300806.html
Comment (0)