Viet Nam holds a national consultation on transforming education

Ha Noi, 20 July 2022 -- A national consultation on transforming education is held today by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) with support from UNICEF and UNESCO and the participation of key stakeholders including relevant ministries, universities, schools and organizations of persons with disabilities. The aim is to develop a shared vision, commitment and alignment of action across constituencies to transform education in Viet Nam according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The outcomes of this consultation will contribute to the Transforming Education Global Summit in September, as convened by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres.

The Global Summit seeks to mobilize political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow; and to revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDG4[1] on inclusive and equitable quality education.

“With SDG4 in mind, to ensure that all children and young people complete equitable and quality education, an education that leads to relevant and effective learning outcomes by 2030, it is time for a revamp. We need to prioritize the issues in the education sector that will help Viet Nam achieve the education-related SDG targets: issues such as inequity in access, learning loss, digital divide, gender gaps, education financing gaps, and specific needs of education for particular groups of children and young people” said Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Viet Nam. “I encourage us all to make space, to hear the voices of those most affected –the children and young people themselves. As a part of this national consultation and the global summit, the United Nations is consulting young people, listening to their experiences, as well as the solutions that they want to contribute; recognizing them as important partners at the table in the transformation of education”, she added.

The pandemic has caused the most massive disruption in learning in recorded history. Data from the SDG Indicators on Children and Women Survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO) in 2020-2021[2] confirmed the wide digital divide, the lack of good ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) skills among girls and boys, which limits their access to distance learning. Data showed that the divide has broadened between ethnic groups, rural and urban areas, and the richest and poorest segments of the population. It also spotlighted worrying trends, including the gender disparity, with a mere 51.4 percent of boys completing upper secondary compared with 65 percent of girls. This makes it much harder for children to acquire the technical and higher-order skills needed to thrive in increasingly demanding labor markets. In addition, a recent study supported by UNICEF showed that there has been a significant increase in the number of upper secondary children facing mental health challenges, which requires urgent action across sectors –education, child protection, health and social protection.

“Innovative approaches are needed to serve as levers for game-changing transformations of education policy and practice in the medium and longer-term. Therefore, active involvement and support of different government ministries, such as health, labour, environment, social development, finance, information and telecommunications, and youth are essential to ensure the commitments are turned into action, with an investment to reform”, shared Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative, as she wrapped up the national consultation.

“This meeting comes at a critically important time, as Viet Nam rethinks and reaffirms its approaches to achievement of SDG4.  UNESCO is actively supporting education systems all over the world to engage in a global debate on how knowledge, education and learning need to be reimagined in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and precarity and the results of this discussion will be important contributions”, said Christian Manhart, UNESCO Country Representative. 

Participants in today’s national consultation will shine a light on crucial steps to address key challenges faced by the education system with the objective of ensuring the right investment to tackle the learning loss; to guarantee children and young people learn in safe, healthy schools; to skill children for the world of work today and in the future; and to ensure that SDG 4 is brought back on track.

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Learn more on the Transforming Education Global Summit in this LINK

For further information on Viet Nam’s national consultation, please contact:

• Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hương, UNICEF Việt Nam, 84-24-38500225; +84-904154678; Email: ntthuong@unicef.org
• Toshiyuki Matsumoto, UNESCO Viet Nam, 84-24-38505306; Email: t.matsumoto@unesco.org

[1] Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This goal ensures that all girls and boys complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030.

[2] SDG Indicators on Children and Women Survey 2020-2021 key findings: https://uni.cf/3cuhyTJ