Teachers and students at a ceremony to begin the new school year in Quảng Xương 1 Secondary School in Thanh Hóa Province. – VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI – More than 23 million students nationwide, or a quarter of the total population, started a new academic year yesterday.

Many Party and State leaders attended ceremonies to begin the new school year.

In Hà Nội, President Trần Đại Quang beat the drum to start the 2018-19 school year at Chu Văn An High School, on the occasion of its 110th founding anniversary. 

Speaking at the ceremony, the President urged staff and students to build on past achievements to improve teaching and learning to show the school deserves to lead the city’s and the nation’s education sector. 

The school was asked to discover and foster talents and improve the skills of managerial and teaching staff. 

He wished that students would strive and nourish their ambitions to become good citizens. 

In Tu Mơ Rông District, the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum the same day, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc beat the drum to kick off new school year at Tu Mơ Rơng ethnic boarding school. 

The school is home to 14 classes with 385 students, 382 of whom are ethnic minorities.

In his speech, the PM affirmed that the Party, State and Government always create favourable conditions for students and young generations of ethnic minority groups to develop. 

He expressed his delight at the fact that 98.7 per cent of students passed the high school graduation examination and 30 per cent were admitted to universities and colleges in the past school year.

The leader requested enhancing teaching equipment, creating a friendly, safe and healthy learning environment for students and priotitising children of poor and invalids’ families. 

At the event, he also presented 500 sets of textbooks to students. Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Đỗ Văn Chiến and Health Minister Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến handed over VNĐ50 million (US$2,100) to teachers and students of the school.

The same day, National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân attended a ceremony to begin the new school year at Lê Hồng Phong School for Gifted Students in HCM City.

Addressing the event, the NA leader lauded its students for winning six international, 66 national, 70 regional and 411 city prizes in the past school year.

She asked the city to prioritise land and funding for education and enhance management in the field. 

As a new education scheme is to be piloted, she urged teacher training and offering educators incentives, aiming to attract quality education personnel.

The top legislator suggested raising students’ awareness of political ideology, social and start-up skills, towards training them into global citizens.

On the occasion, she presented gifts to students who were directly admitted to major universities in the city.

Before the opening day, many schools in northern and central regions suffered from serious floods, but authorities have worked hard for students to start the new school year as scheduled.

In the 2018-19 academic year, the education sector will focus on developing pre-schools at industrial parks and export-processing zones, while finalising preparations for the launching of new education programme and textbook. It will take steps to continue enhancing the quality of the national high-school examination, while reforming the management of high schools.
At the same time, tertiary education will concentrate on standardising the quality of students to meet the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The efficiency of community-based education facilities as well as vocational training centres will also be improved. — VNS