Vietnam to Spend VND1.6T on School Consolidation in 2012

The government of Vietnam will spend VND1.6 trillion on a project to upgrade and build schools this year in an effort to further improve the training quality throughout the country. The statement was made by Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan in his online talks with the public yesterday, the Vietnamese Government said on its website. During the talks, the public raised questions in 2012 tertiary education entrance exam, poor education quality and human resources. Luan admitted that the quality of tertiary education, especially in private universities, is relatively weak. In 2011, MoET reviewed the performance of both public and private universities which have been established over the last 10 years. This year, MoET will expand the examination to 80 others in a bid to raise the education quality, Luan said. The Ministry will also encourage educational institutions to broaden their relations with businesses and other universities in and outside the country, in order to better their curricula and training methods. Luan said teachers in disadvantaged, remote, mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited areas will receive an allowance amount of up to 70% of the minimum wage they received. This is part of an effort to improve the living conditions for poor teachers. The government is building new salary policies and ministries and agencies are working on specific incentives for teachers and students facing difficulties and beneficiaries of welfare policies, Luan noted. Initiated by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, online dialogues with the public have been conducted for years by ministries, aiming to collect public ideas for better policies and performances.  (Tin Tuc - News Mar 8 p4, Nong Thon Ngay Nay - Agriculture Today Mar 8 p2, Dat Viet - National Land Mar 8 p7)