Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính speaks at the conference on August 22. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on August 22 stressed the need to ensure equal access to education and training while chairing a national conference reviewing the 2024–2025 academic year and outlining tasks for 2025–2026.

The hybrid conference was held in person at the Government headquarters and connected online with the thirty-four provinces and cities nationwide.

In his conclusion, the PM affirmed the vital role of education and training, particularly during the era of the nation's rise. He noted that the Politburo will soon issue resolutions to create breakthroughs in the field, alongside healthcare, cultural development, and the state economic sector.

Acknowledging the educational achievements over the past academic year, the Government leader also frankly pointed out shortcomings and challenges, including outdated curricula, imbalanced disciplines, skill gaps, teacher shortages, incomplete networks, and passive funding mechanisms.

Looking ahead, he underscored the need to shift from viewing education and training as the responsibility of the sole education sector to a common task of the entire political system, the people, and society.

He asked for a transition from teaching only knowledge to developing comprehensive competency, along with a renewed mindset, methodology, and approach to ensure equal access to education and training for all citizens, particularly disadvantaged groups, ethnic minorities, and those in remote areas.

PM Chính demanded the sector develop advanced, modern, and consistent educational programmes and curricula aligned with national development, teachers be a source of inspiration for students, and families, society, and schools be sources of support for teachers and students.

The Government leader requested thorough preparations for the upcoming new school year, including a nationwide online opening ceremony on September 5, marking the first academic year after the administrative unit merger and organisation of the two-tier local administration system.

The education sector will implement the policy of lunch support for primary and junior secondary students in border communes starting from the 2025–2026 school year, he noted.

PM Chính also instructed relevant agencies to build integrated boarding schools combining primary and junior secondary levels in two hundred forty-eight land border communes, with an initial pilot project to construct or renovate one hundred schools this year.

Other directives included universalising early childhood education for children aged three to five, ensuring child safety, enhancing digital capacity and AI skills, and gradually making English a second language in schools. Besides, it is necessary to improve the training quality of human resources, especially high-quality manpower for science – technology and innovation, the field related to knowledge-based economy, digital economy, green economy, and circular economy, and emerging areas like AI, semiconductor, high-speed railway, and nuclear power.

The conference reported that the 2024–2025 school year took place amidst positive socio-economic changes in the country, with education and training institutions benefiting from an improved legal and policy framework. All targets across all educational levels surpassed those of the previous year. Nationwide, 89.6 per cent of classrooms at public preschools and schools of general education have now been made permanent.

For 2025–2026, the sector has set twenty-eight key targets, including enrolling 94 per cent of kindergarten-age children, achieving a 99.5 per cent completion rate for primary education among students, and ensuring that 90 per cent of preschool teachers, 91 per cent of primary school teachers, and 100 per cent of secondary school ones meet training standards. — VNS