Directive No. 32/2006/CT-BGDĐT on key tasks for preschool education, general education, continuing education, and teacher training schools and departments for the 2006-2007 academic year

 

DIRECTIVE

On the key tasks of preschool education, general education,

continuing education, and teacher training schools and departments for the 2006-2007 academic year

Implementing Directive No. 22/2005/CT-BGDĐT dated July 29, 2005 of the Minister of Education and Training on the key tasks of the entire sector for the 2005-2006 academic year, all cadres, teachers, lecturers, students, and trainees have strived to train, work, and study to achieve results celebrating the Party Congresses at all levels and the 10th National Party Congress; basically completing the assigned tasks regarding reforming educational programs, contents, and methods; universalizing primary education at the appropriate age and lower secondary education; building and improving the quality of the teaching staff and educational management personnel; strengthening school infrastructure and implementing the consolidation of school buildings and classrooms; gradually stabilizing university, college, and vocational college admissions.

Along with progress, the efforts to overcome weaknesses and shortcomings that have persisted for many years have not shown significant improvement. The quality and effectiveness of education remain low, conditions ensuring education development still have many inadequacies; education in remote and mountainous areas still faces many difficulties. Management has many limitations, especially in non-formal education, private education, and educational institutions with foreign elements. Cheating in examinations and testing has not been effectively curbed, causing dissatisfaction within the sector and in society.

In light of the current situation, based on thoroughly understanding the Resolution of the 10th National Party Congress; pursuant to the Education Law 2005 and the tasks set out in the second phase of the Education Development Strategy 2001-2010; aiming to promote the achievements made in the 2005-2006 academic year while creating fundamental changes in overcoming the sector's weaknesses and shortcomings, the Minister of Education and Training issues directives for the 2006-2007 academic year, the entire education sector will focus on implementing preschool education, general education, continuing education, and teacher training schools and departments as follows:

1. Continue to implement reforms in educational programs, contents, and methods, with a focus on organizing the implementation of combined class selection and elective courses in grade 10; based on comprehensive education, emphasizing moral education, lifestyle education, vocational guidance, and legal education.

a. Preschool education:

Organize and implement Decision No. 149/2006/QĐ-TTg dated June 23, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the Project on Developing Preschool Education for the period 2006-2015; develop detailed programs and projects to implement this project.

Reform preschool education programs, contents, and methods. Establish standards for child development in the preschool age, criteria, and methods for evaluating preschool education outcomes.

Strengthen health care, disease prevention, malnutrition prevention, safety assurance, and accident prevention for children. At the same time, expand the provision of basic knowledge and skills on nurturing, caring for, and educating children, and actively mobilize parents of preschool children to apply the knowledge and skills they have received.

b. General education, continuing education, ethnic education

Implement the General Education Program, continue to review, adjust, and perfect guidelines for implementing the program, textbooks for elementary, middle, and high school to ensure knowledge and skill standards and attitude requirements; simultaneously adapt appropriately to the development of students' thinking and psychological characteristics at different ages and regions, and guide implementation in accordance with different educational methods.

Seriously implement Directive No. 25/2006/CT-TTg dated August 1, 2006 of the Prime Minister on the implementation of high school class selection. Focus on guiding and directing the organization and implementation of combined class selection and elective courses in grade 10, paying particular attention to organizing and arranging students into classes suitable for school conditions and student needs; train teachers, reasonably arrange the teaching staff to ensure the quality of teaching all subjects and activities in the program; promptly and adequately provide school facilities and teaching equipment according to the requirements of the grade 10 program and textbooks, especially the widespread implementation of computer science and foreign language courses and practical and experimental requirements.

Continue to implement the supplementary lower secondary education program; compile the supplementary upper secondary education program based on ensuring knowledge and skill standards and attitude requirements specified in the General Education Program. Compile textbooks for supplementary upper secondary education instruction suitable for learners' characteristics and implementation conditions of continuing education institutions. Simultaneously, prepare to build programs and materials serving self-study with guidance and distance learning; combining cultural studies with vocational training; programs for updating knowledge and skills to meet learner needs.

Strengthen guidance on teaching Vietnamese to five-year-olds before entering grade 1 and continue teaching Vietnamese through grade 1 and 2 subjects for children of ethnic minorities. Continue compiling and revising materials and textbooks for teaching ethnic languages: Hmong, Cham, Jrai, Bana, Khmer; complete materials and textbooks for teaching Pa Co language and Khmer literature for the Southern Pa Co Cultural Supplemental School.

Continue to strongly reform teaching methods; enhance the application of information technology in school activities, particularly in teaching, learning, and educational management.

Summarize the five-year implementation of the reform of the general education program; strengthen guidance points to draw lessons from the implementation and evaluation of the program at all levels of general education; its application in difficult areas and ethnic minority regions.

Strengthen guidance on the development and implementation of integration education programs for children with disabilities and severe disabilities. Organize cultural studies programs for students at educational institutions and correctional schools.

c) Moral education, lifestyle education, vocational education, and legal education for high school and college students.

Enhance comprehensive education quality, teach all subjects and organize extracurricular activities according to regulations on educational programs. Ensure requirements for teaching Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's thought; physical education; aesthetic education; national defense education; vocational education; healthy moral and lifestyle education, prevention of social evils, crime, drugs, HIV/AIDS; traffic safety education and general legal education. Prepare conditions and guide the organization of the Phu Dong Healthy Youth Festival at all levels, towards the National Phu Dong Healthy Youth Festival in 2008.

For moral and lifestyle education, it is necessary to thoroughly convey to all management cadres, teachers, and students the requirement that "teaching literacy goes hand in hand with teaching character," teaching and learning to become a person, teaching and learning to have a profession; focus on organizing and implementing effectively the movement "Say no to negative practices in exams and the disease of achievement in education"; based on mobilizing the participation of student families, organizations inside and outside schools, and the entire society in restoring discipline and order in the field of education.

Fully and qualitatively implement vocational education and career counseling activities for secondary school students; improve the quality of general vocational training; maintain labor activities in schools.

Strengthen propaganda, dissemination, and legal education activities linked to regular organization, inspection, and timely handling of any violations of the law by students and college students.

2. Develop the examination system and quality assessment of education; continue to reform examination work, inspection, and evaluation of the teaching and learning process according to requirements reflecting true educational quality and contributing to achieving training goals.

Continue to build and perfect the examination and quality assessment system at provincial education and training departments. Vigorously train and enhance the skills of staff involved in examination and quality assessment work.

Organize mid-term reviews and draw lessons from the organization of examinations and admissions in 2006, including reviewing the recognition of secondary school graduation; grade 10 admissions for the 2005-2006 academic year; evaluating foreign language multiple-choice tests to prepare for expanding this method for some natural science subjects starting in 2007; assessing cooperation among departments, organizations, and inspecting responsibilities and drawing lessons from areas where security and order were disrupted during exams; discussing solutions to prevent exam malpractices using modern technical means such as computers and mobile phones.

Complete the construction of the plan for secondary school graduation exams and university admissions in 2009.

Actively implement to ensure effective inspection, evaluation of the teaching and learning process, and quality assessment.

3. Promote universal education; implement education for all, build a learning society, meet the learning needs of the people, and achieve social equity in education.

Strengthen guidance to attract the maximum number of five-year-olds to school, consolidate illiteracy eradication results, promote universal primary education and junior secondary education, and implement universal secondary education (general or specialized) suitable for the requirements and conditions of each locality. In universal education work, it is necessary to focus on directing and prioritizing investment in particularly difficult areas to accelerate progress; while determining the importance of ensuring quality and sustainability.

Continue to implement the project to build a learning society, implement the National Action Plan for Education for All, improve the quality of activities of regular education centers and community learning centers; develop non-formal education, distance education, and implement television and education networks to facilitate easy access to education and training for all strata of the population, contributing to building a learning society.

Increase quotas and strictly implement the rules for nominating ethnic minority students to pre-university schools; continue to resolve difficulties regarding mechanisms and policies for developing education in ethnic regions and difficult areas; organize the full implementation of policies according to Decision No. 82/2006/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister; policies for children of ethnic minorities, children of families eligible for social benefits, and children of poor families.

Focus on building and improving the quality of the teaching staff and educational management cadre.

Continue to implement Directive No. 40-CT/TW of the Politburo and Decision No. 09/2005/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, localities complete the review and classification of teachers and lecturers according to the Regulations on Teacher Evaluation and Classification issued together with Decision No. 06/2006/QD-BNV of the Minister of Home Affairs; implement the Provision on the Training and Utilization of Teachers who Have Not Reached the Standard Level issued together with Decision No. 22/2006/QD-BGDĐT of the Minister of Education and Training; while strictly implementing policies and systems for teachers and educational management cadres, propose measures to increase income and improve the living standards of teachers and educational management cadres.

Teacher training schools, education faculties, educational management academies, education management cadres training schools, universities, colleges with teacher training programs need to quickly address the shortage of staff; gradually increase the proportion of lecturers with master's, doctoral degrees, and professor and associate professor titles to meet new training requirements. Teacher training schools and faculties need to develop training programs and plans closely and appropriately aligned with the requirements for reforming the general education curriculum.

5. Continue to consolidate the school network, build school facilities towards standardization, modernization, and synchronization.

Regarding the school network: Complete the planning of the university and college network, and develop a proposal for the development of vocational education, which must reflect the concept of分流后的第二段内容的翻译应保持一致性，以下是针对编号为2的输入行的直接翻译：

Consolidate preschool education bases, striving to ensure that all communes in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions have preschool education facilities, primary schools, junior high schools, or comprehensive primary-secondary schools by the end of 2006-2007. Focus on investing, consolidating, and enhancing material infrastructure for provincial-level boarding schools for ethnic minorities, supporting the development of semi-boarding schools, preparatory departments of universities, general technical training centers, continuing education centers, and community learning centers. Summarize and evaluate the pilot model of secondary vocational schools.

Regarding school construction: Concentrate on completing the goals of the Program to reinforce school buildings according to Decision No. 159/2002/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister; localities that have not yet completed should accelerate progress, while those that have completed should focus on investing in additional projects to meet comprehensive educational requirements. The Ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to report to the Government for continued investment in phase two to standardize and modernize schools in accordance with the spirit of the 10th National Party Congress Resolution; continue mobilizing international resources to build schools and address the re-emergence of temporary classrooms and three-shift classrooms.

Regarding equipment work: Focus on directing the resolution of difficulties and obstacles in implementing educational equipment work, ensuring timely, quality provision, and sufficient minimum equipment to support the renewal of general education, especially for grade 5 and grade 10. Localities should review and assess existing physical infrastructure and teaching equipment to establish plans for comprehensive investment in material infrastructure and equipment for primary, junior high, and senior high schools, ensuring progress, quality, and effective use.

Schools, teacher training colleges, and general technical training centers need more investment to strengthen the construction of standardized and modernized school technical infrastructure, prioritizing the establishment and reinforcement of subject classrooms, laboratories, workshops, electronic libraries, computer networking, and sports training rooms.

6. Strengthen international cooperation, attract and effectively utilize foreign investment; actively exchange experiences in education development, enhance Vietnam's educational standing in the region and globally.

Educational management agencies at all levels and schools should proactively promote international educational cooperation activities.

Encourage experienced, resourceful, and advanced foreign investors to establish educational institutions in Vietnam. At the same time, create conditions for educational institutions to collaborate in training, exchange programs, curricula, experts... with foreign countries, gradually improving the quality of Vietnamese education to integrate with regional and global standards.

Prepare thoroughly and organize successfully international activities that the sector has hosted, particularly the International Mathematics Olympiad 2007 in Vietnam and the activities of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).

In the new academic year, the Ministry will organize for directors of education and training departments to visit some advanced countries in the region and worldwide to learn about educational development over the past ten years and strategic directions for the next ten years, to draw lessons and apply them to Vietnam. The Ministry encourages scientists, teachers, educators... to study and translate materials on educational strategies of other countries; advise the Ministry on educational development strategies.

7. Rectify discipline and order; fundamentally reform competition and commendation work; practice thrift and combat corruption and waste, resolutely building a healthy educational environment.

This academic year, the entire sector will concentrate on effectively organizing the movement "No to negative practices in examinations and the disease of achievement in education", first and foremost, teachers and educational managers at the grassroots level must firmly refrain from engaging in negative behaviors, not tolerate, assist, cover up, or evade negative practices in examinations, inspections, and student evaluations, resolutely rectifying discipline and order, and building a healthy educational environment. To achieve this, localities need to proactively propose comprehensive solutions, firmly prevent and handle violations strictly and fairly.

Educational inspection agencies at all levels need to be strengthened in terms of manpower and responsibility to become the core force in the struggle against negative practices in education. Promote specialized inspection work, ensuring the objectivity, independence, and effectiveness of educational inspections; effectively resolve conclusions following inspections. Strengthen supervision, promptly detect and handle in accordance with legal regulations violations related to investment and overseas training collaboration, ensuring legitimate rights for learners.

In conjunction with rectifying discipline and norms, reforming the work of competition and commendation towards serving practical improvements in teaching better, learning better, and managing more effectively; encouraging, rewarding, and promoting exemplary cases of good teaching, learning, and management. In the short term, review the criteria for competition, the organization and evaluation of movements and activities of competition and commendation, promote democracy, strengthen legal systems, enhance responsibility and honesty in reporting and evaluating the results of competition targets.

Emphasize the development of legal frameworks to promote education, continue to widely disseminate the Education Law 2005 both within and outside the sector; implement the drafting of detailed regulations and guidelines for implementing the Education Law; complete the drafting and promulgation of specific regulations according to the requirements of the Law. At the same time, review the current system of documents, amend and supplement them to be consistent with the provisions of the Education Law 2005, creating a legal foundation for educational development.

Strengthen management, improve the effectiveness of loan projects, bilateral and multilateral aid projects, and training programs for high-level scientific and technical cadres abroad using state budget funds. The Ministry will coordinate with relevant agencies to propose and develop adjustments regarding the division of responsibilities and management levels, and perfect legal regulations on the management of foreign-invested educational institutions.

Publicly and transparently define cases where additional teaching is compensated and where it is not compensated. Vigorously implement Decree No. 49/2005/NĐ-CP of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of education, focusing on resolving long-standing complaints and grievances.

Organize the effective implementation of the Government's Action Programs on implementing the Law on Thrift and Combating Wastefulness and the Law on Preventing and Combating Corruption issued together with Decisions No. 25/2006/QĐ-TTg and No. 30/2006/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister.

To ensure the effective implementation of this Directive, the following requirements are requested:

Directors of provincial Departments of Education and Training shall organize the implementation, direct, inspect, urge, and supervise local education offices, schools, and other educational institutions in fulfilling their academic year tasks; advise the Provincial Party Committee, Municipal Party Committee, People's Councils, and People's Committees, seek cooperation, coordination, and assistance from various departments, sectors, and organizations to create favorable conditions for the education sector to fulfill its academic year tasks.

Directors and principals of universities, colleges, and vocational colleges that offer teacher training shall be responsible for concretizing and organizing the implementation according to their functions and tasks, while participating in resolving difficulties faced by the sector, contributing to promoting the development of the education cause.

Comrades leading the Ministry shall instruct heads of units within the Ministry of Education and Training to guide, inspect, urge, and supervise local educational management levels and affiliated schools in fulfilling their academic year tasks; promptly report and reflect the situation, propose solutions to address issues arising during the implementation process.

This Directive shall be disseminated to all officials, civil servants, and employees in educational agencies, teachers in public and private schools at preschool, primary, secondary, vocational, and teacher training levels, and universities with teacher training departments to understand and implement.

This Directive takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.