Program No. 38/2003/CT-BGDĐT On the tasks of the entire education sector for the 2003-2004 academic year

DIRECTIVE

On the tasks of the entire education sector for the 2003-2004 academic year

____________________________

During the 2002-2003 academic year, the education sector achieved significant initial results in implementing the Education Development Strategy 2001-2010 and the Action Program to implement the Resolution of the 6th Plenum (9th term), particularly in aspects such as reforming the general education curriculum, universalizing lower secondary education, improving university and college admissions, developing preschool education, building material and technical infrastructure of the sector, and many other activities.

However, during its development process, the education sector faces many difficulties and challenges, with many limitations and inadequacies remaining. This requires the entire sector to make greater efforts to achieve the goals and requirements set out in the Education Development Strategy 2001-2010 and the Resolution of the 6th Plenum (9th term), especially the requirements to improve the quality and effectiveness of education, expand scale while adjusting training structure, link training with utilization, and ensure fairness in education.

In light of this situation, during the 2003-2004 academic year, the entire education sector needs to focus on implementing the following tasks thoroughly:

1. Continue to implement reforms in the curriculum, content, and teaching methods at all levels of education.

Implement the new curriculum and textbooks in grade 2 and grade 7; establish regular teaching of the new curriculum and textbooks in grade 1 and grade 6; continue pilot programs in the remaining elementary and lower secondary grades; conduct pilot programs for the new curriculum and textbooks for specialized high schools and vocational high schools in grade 10. Accelerate the progress and ensure the quality of editing, reviewing, revising, publishing, and distributing textbooks; actively prepare conditions for teacher training, equipment procurement to meet the requirements of implementing the new curriculum and textbooks in subsequent grades.

Strengthen the development of framework curricula, textbook compilation, and publication at universities, colleges, and vocational schools; strive to ensure that all training fields at all levels have sufficient textbooks and teaching materials that meet the requirements of interconnection and standardization, modernization, suitability with Vietnam's reality, and alignment with global standards.

Link the reform of content with the reform of teaching methods. Encourage the initiative, proactivity, and creativity of students and trainees. Ensure requirements for practical training; combine training with scientific research and technology transfer; actively apply information technology in educational activities.

Improve the graduation examination system for high school, university, and college admissions; ensure strictness, accuracy, fairness, reduction of stress and costs, and innovation in evaluating student learning and discipline performance.

Strengthen political and ideological education, moral education for students and trainees; strictly implement Directive No. 23-CT/TW of the Politburo on intensifying the study, propaganda, and education of Ho Chi Minh's thought. Enhance the quality and effectiveness of vocational guidance and vocational training according to Directive No. 33/2003/CT-BGD&ĐT. Create clear changes in physical education, aesthetic education, national defense education, and integration education for disabled children. Pay attention to school health work; organize extracurricular activities well; create more favorable conditions for comprehensive development of students and trainees. The entire sector prepares and conducts the Phu Dong Health Festival from grassroots to nationwide.

2. Develop preschool education; consolidate the school network, reasonably expand scale, implement universal education, and enhance the capacity to meet people's learning needs.

Continue to build and consolidate preschool education facilities in rural, mountainous areas, and ethnic minority regions, striving to eliminate white spots in preschool education. Provide comprehensive care and education for children in preschool classes. Actively prepare physical, psychological, and Vietnamese language conditions for five-year-old children before entering grade 1 under the new curriculum and textbooks. Pilot vocational high school models. Consolidate provincial ethnic boarding schools and preparatory universities aimed at training ethnic minority cadres, develop boarding general schools. Strictly implement planning for higher education networks, colleges, and vocational schools to facilitate post-secondary and high school分流后的第一部分是否准确翻译了原文的意思？请直接回答“是”或“否”，不要额外解释。

Consolidate and maintain the results of eradicating illiteracy; intensify the universalization of primary education at the appropriate age and the universalization of lower secondary education; implement the universalization of upper secondary education (general or vocational) in accordance with local needs and conditions. Support regions in developing education in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic circumstances. Strictly enforce the system of recommended candidates, preparatory university programs, and other systems and policies for ethnic minority students, children from families receiving social welfare benefits, and children from poor families.

3. Build a teaching staff, lecturing staff, and educational management cadre with political integrity and moral character, adequate in number, consistent in structure, and standardized in training qualifications.

Implement the project to build and improve the quality of the teaching staff and educational management cadre; pay attention to all three aspects: training and development, utilization and remuneration, evaluation and screening.

Universities, colleges, and specialized high schools proactively build their lecturing staff, address the shortage of lecturers, gradually reduce differences in utilization and remuneration between contractual and permanent lecturers. Gradually increase the proportion of lecturers with master's, doctoral degrees, and professor and associate professor titles at universities and colleges. Strengthen and improve the general secondary school teaching staff to meet the requirements for implementing new curricula and textbooks.

Schools and teacher training departments must closely follow practical changes in secondary education reform, improving the quality of training to ensure the fulfillment of their main responsibility for teacher development work. The two key teacher training universities must serve as the core in scientific research on education, closely combining teaching with research.

Educational management agencies must innovate the process of building and organizing the implementation of planning and training programs for teachers; training and development must be linked to utilization. Teacher recruitment targets must meet the requirements of standardization, synchronization, and localization of the secondary school teacher workforce; responsibilities and specific training quotas should be assigned to teacher training schools to address the shortage of teachers for foreign language, civic education, computer science, music, fine arts, physical education, national defense education, technology subjects, and special education teachers.

Closely cooperate with the Vietnam General Confederation of Teachers to implement the movement for "democracy, discipline, affection, responsibility," helping the teacher and lecturer workforce, as well as educational managers, to cultivate and refine their professional ethics, pedagogical resilience, maintain a positive image of teachers, and set examples for students to emulate.

4. Strengthen the construction of school facilities towards solidification, standardization, and modernization.

Urgently and strictly implement the Program for Solidifying School Buildings and Classrooms, eliminating the three-shift system in 2003, completing the replacement of temporary classrooms made of bamboo and wood with solid structures by 2005; ensuring the effective use of basic construction investment funds, resolutely preventing waste and embezzlement; organizing inspections, appraisals, and acceptance to ensure the quality of construction projects.

Localities need to effectively utilize additional state budget funds, 6-10% of regular expenditure, and other sources to purchase teaching equipment, supplies, laboratories, and school libraries, ensuring they are adequate, timely, and of high quality to meet the requirements of teaching method reforms in grade 2 and grade 7 classes. Properly carry out the construction of specialized classrooms. Connect the internet to secondary schools. Encourage teachers to use and make teaching aids.

Universities, colleges, and vocational schools need to exploit all sources of capital, strengthen the construction of school facilities towards standardization and modernization; prioritize the construction of laboratories, workshops, electronic libraries, and computer networking, meeting the requirements of professional education content and method reforms.

Educational management agencies at all levels and schools need to further promote international cooperation in education and training; particularly, they must pay more attention to enhancing the effectiveness of loan projects and bilateral and multilateral aid projects in constructing school facilities.

Universities and localities tasked by the Government to build national defense education centers must urgently implement these tasks, ensuring progress and quality requirements.

5. Promote socialization in education, mobilize all resources, and tap into all potential to develop education and build a learning society.

Implement the National Action Plan for Education for All; perfect and expand community learning center networks, coordinate with Vietnam Television to establish an educational television channel, use mass media to facilitate easy access to education for all social strata, and foster a vibrant learning movement in society.

Create favorable conditions for private schools to operate according to legal regulations to fully exploit and utilize all resources for the development of the education sector.

Vigorously and extensively publicize the Party and State's educational policies to create unity and support from the entire society for the education sector to overcome difficulties and challenges and successfully implement educational reforms.

Educational management agencies and schools need to build cooperative relationships and coordination with various sectors and associations, especially the Association for Promoting Education; regularly organize consultations with scientists, educators, parents of students, and students regarding educational reform policies; seek societal support and participation; make education and schools truly of, by, and for the people.

6. Continue to reform educational management, strengthen discipline, prevent, and address negative phenomena in the field of education.

Organize and restructure educational management agencies at all levels towards simplicity, clearly defining functions, tasks, and authorities to enhance the effectiveness of state management over education. Strengthen Party leadership, emphasize the responsibility of heads, value the cooperation of associations, and promote democracy in organizing and supervising the implementation of tasks at all levels of educational management.

Promptly reform management mechanisms; implement strong decentralization to localities and schools as stipulated by law. Localities and schools, primarily universities and colleges, need to thoroughly understand and implement Decree No. 10/2002/ND-CP dated January 16, 2002, of the Government on financial autonomy for revenue-generating public institutions; fulfill their duties and rights, enhance their social responsibility, and meet the learning needs of the people.

Entrust the People's Committee of provinces/cities with the responsibility for organizing the inspection, evaluation, and recognition of schools achieving national standards; prepare to soon take responsibility for all stages of organizing secondary school graduation exams.

Strengthening and enhancing organizational structure and personnel, increasing the authority and responsibility of inspection agencies. Ensuring that inspection activities are conducted regularly and with focus; promptly detecting, preventing, handling, and rectifying negative manifestations in the implementation of training programs; in the use of assets and finances; in enrollment, examinations, and evaluation; in issuing and using certificates and diplomas. Resolutely prevent and stop the practice of forcing students to attend additional classes for profit. Strictly deal with teachers who force students to attend additional classes for profit, while imposing appropriate disciplinary measures on principals.

Educational agencies and schools shall organize a five-year review of the implementation of the Education Law, based on which they shall participate in drafting the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Education Law.

This Directive shall be disseminated to all officials and civil servants in educational agencies, teachers in schools and other educational institutions of all types of public and private sectors for thorough understanding and implementation.

Directors of provincial education and training departments shall be responsible for organizing and implementing; directing, inspecting, and urging education and training divisions, schools, and other educational institutions in their locality to fulfill the academic year tasks; advising the provincial party committee, municipal party committee, People's Council, and People's Committee, and seeking cooperation, coordination, and assistance from various departments, sectors, and organizations to facilitate favorable conditions for the education sector to implement the academic year tasks.

University Presidents and College Principals shall be responsible for detailing and implementing within their assigned scope of responsibility, and at the same time participating in resolving issues facing the sector, contributing to promoting the development of the education cause.

Heads of units within the Ministry shall be responsible for guiding, inspecting, and urging local educational management levels and subordinate schools to fulfill the academic year tasks; promptly reporting and reflecting the situation, proposing guidance solutions to address emerging issues during the implementation process.

The Ministry of Education and Training requests ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, provincial People's Councils, and municipal People's Committees under the central government to direct, inspect, and urge subordinate agencies and sectors to resolve difficulties in implementing education policies, creating favorable conditions for educational management agencies and schools within their management scope to effectively perform the aforementioned tasks so that the 2003-2004 academic year achieves good results.