Vietnam to Spend $17.5M to Support Education for Ethnic Minorities

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a VND341 billion ($17.5 million) project to improve educational facilities and training standards for students of nine ethnic minorities in six provinces in 2010-2015. The investment would help students to work their way out of poverty while preserving their own traditional identity, the Dat Viet newspaper reported Nov 30, citing Mong Ky Slay, head of the Ethnic Minority Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training. The beneficiaries include three-to-five-year-old children, pupils and students of nine ethnic minorities (O ?u, Pu Peo, Si La, Ro Mam, Cong, Brau, Bo Y, Mang, and Co Lao) in four northern provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, the central province of Nghe An and the central highlands province of Kon Tum.  They will receive educational pension equivalent to 30%-100% of the minimum salary per individual each month. A ministry report showed that the nine groups live in poor disadvantaged areas, where literacy levels are between just 30%-40% and only 15% of the people can speak the national language. Most children from the groups drop out of school after second or third grade and few make it to high school or higher education. The project targets to universalize junior secondary education for children of these ethnic groups by 2015. After finishing senior secondary education, 95% of graduates will be enrolled in pre-university courses, universities, colleges and vocational training establishments. (Dat Viet - National Land Nov 30 p7)