Students from the Hà Nội-based Việt Mỹ College practice at the school's automobile workshop. Resolution 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo opens up strategic orientations, affirming that intellectuals and high-quality human resources are a particularly important resource. — VNA/VNS Photo Diệu Thúy

HÀ NỘI — Resolution 71-NQ/TW on breakthrough development in education and training carries particular weight as Việt Nam enters a new phase of development marked by rising demand for high-quality human resources, digital transformation, innovation, creativity and deeper international integration.

Lê Xuân Rao, Chairman of the Hà Nội Union of Science and Technology Associations (HUSTA), made the point at a scientific seminar themed 'proposing distinctive, superior solutions to realise Resolution 71-NQ/TW on breakthrough development in education and training.'

Held on Thursday, the seminar sought views from scientists, managers and education experts on implementing the Politburo’s Resolution 71-NQ/TW to generate substantive breakthroughs in the capital’s education and training sector.

The Hà Nội Party Committee has drafted an action programme aiming to lift the capital’s education system to an advanced level in the region by 2030 and position Hà Nội as one of Asia’s leading centres for talent training by 2045.

Rao said the seminar focused on clarifying distinctive, superior solutions that maximise policy space, ensuring the action programme is not only correctly oriented but also feasible and capable of delivering tangible change in practice.

Strengths and difficulties

Contributing opinions to the Hà Nội Party Committee’s draft action programme unanimously praised its innovative thinking, strategic vision and political determination.

The programme comprehensively specifies the objectives of Resolution 71, linking education and training development with high-quality human resources, science and technology, innovation, creativity, digital transformation and international integration.

It clearly identifies key task groups, including curriculum and teaching method innovation; teacher development; promoting autonomy; enhancing science and technology applications; advancing the socialisation of education; and preliminarily assigning responsibilities to departments, sectors and localities.

However, many delegates also pointed to difficulties and limitations that must be addressed to achieve real breakthroughs. These include disparities in education quality between areas; institutional and resource barriers to educational autonomy; and insufficiently competitive mechanisms to attract talent and international experts.

Other concerns raised were weak linkages between schools, scientists and businesses, and uneven digital transformation in education with a lack of shared data platforms.

Delegates warned that without distinctive mechanisms and policies, these obstacles would continue to hinder efforts to raise Hà Nội’s education to regional and international standards.

Distinctive solutions

Against this backdrop, many presentations focused on proposing specific groups of solutions to support the Hà Nội People’s Committee’s implementation plan.

The proposed solutions aim to address immediate pressures while laying foundations for long-term development.

On innovating teaching content and methods, delegates suggested boldly granting professional autonomy to high-quality and advanced schools, allowing partial curriculum adjustments to integrate digital skills and Hà Nội’s cultural identity.

They also proposed reducing academic content load, emphasising critical thinking and teamwork, strengthening arts and physical education, and tightening links between general, vocational, higher and enterprise education, with career orientation tied to real-world experience from lower secondary level.

For infrastructure and equipment investment, several opinions called for a shift from an ownership mindset to usage, applying public asset leasing and public-private partnership mechanisms to avoid technological obsolescence, while developing shared practice and innovation centres by area to improve efficiency.

On attracting international experts and scientists, delegates recommended more robust use of Capital Law provisions, enabling autonomous institutions to directly contract domestic and foreign experts at market rates, supported by policies on visas, housing and working conditions to ensure long-term appeal.

A key focus of the seminar was an in-depth analysis of vocational education in Hà Nội during the implementation of Resolution 71.

Nguyễn Xuân Khánh, Rector of Hà Nội High-Tech College, said Resolution 71-NQ/TW represents a fundamental reform of Việt Nam’s education system, closely aligned with Resolution 57 on science, technology, innovation, creativity and digital transformation, and Resolution 59 on international integration.

The ultimate goal, he said, is to build a substantive education system of real learning – real talent, training elite generations proficient in specialised skills, foreign languages and technology, especially artificial intelligence, and rich in aspiration to contribute to the nation.

Khánh noted that Hà Nội’s vocational education has made positive progress, with expanding enrolment, improved training quality, high post-graduation employment rates and a diverse training network.

Yet shortcomings remain, including a lack of high-quality facilities, fragmented scale, inadequate policy mechanisms, shortages and weaknesses among teaching staff in new occupations, and unclear science and technology activities and innovation within vocational institutions.

He attributed these issues to incomplete awareness and mindset, imbalanced investment, slow institutional and policy renewal, limited socialisation and public-private cooperation, and management models lagging behind development trends.

Khánh proposed treating vocational education as pivotal to high-skill development, with breakthroughs starting from mindset and institutional innovation, public investment playing a leading role, public vocational education acting as the backbone, and substantive autonomy being strengthened.

He also called for prioritised investment in high-quality colleges and modern vocational practice centres, clear and measurable targets by 2030, and closer alignment between training, enterprise demand and the capital’s key industry strategies.

In concluding the seminar, Rao said Resolution 71 and the Capital Law had opened a mechanism gateway, while the action programme serves as the blueprint.

To build a solid and modern Hà Nội education house, he stressed the need for concrete solutions and concerted efforts from intellectuals, managers and educators.

He voiced confidence that the seminar’s dedicated and responsible contributions would be absorbed by the Hà Nội Party Committee and People’s Committee to refine the implementation plan and help Hà Nội’s education and training sector truly take off in the new development phase. — VNS