DIRECTIVE

ON RENOVATION OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM IN EXECUTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 40/2000/QH10 OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

In execution of Resolution No. 14-NQ/TW of January 11, 1979 of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee (4th Congress), since the 1981-1982 school year, the general education schools have conducted teaching and learning basically under a unified program with uniform textbooks from the 1st to 12th form. This program and these textbooks have made an important contribution to the successful fulfillment of the task of building a unified secondary education system in the whole country, creating conditions for completing the universalization of primary education, laying a favorable groundwork for the universalization of basic secondary education, gradually stabilizing, developing and raising the quality of general education over the past 20 years.

Today, in face of the new demand of national construction and defense, in face of the rapid and strong socio-economic development, of the rapid and strong development of science and technology in general and of the educational science in particular, the current program and textbooks have revealed their limitations and inadequacies. The Ministry of Education and Training has taken an initiative step in preparing for the renovation of the program of primary and basic secondary education.

On December 9, 2000, the National Assembly adopted Resolution No. 40/2000/QH10 on renovation of the general education program. The Report of the Central Committee of the Party (VIIIth Congress) at the IXth National Party Congress on the Strategy of socio-economic development in 2001-2010 called for "speedily compiling and putting in stable use throughout the country the program and textbooks of general education suited to the new development needs".

For the implementation of Resolution No. 40/2000/QH10 on renovation of the general education program to achieve good results, thus creating an important change in quality and effectiveness of education, meeting the need of raising the people�s level of knowledge, and training the human resource and fostering talents in the period of industrialization and modernization of the country, the Prime Minister gives the following instruction:

1. The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the related ministries and branches and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in speedily carrying out the renovation of the program and textbooks of general education, considering this to be one of the central tasks of education to raise the quality of general education in particular and of the education-training system in general.

2. The objective of the renovation of the general education program and textbooks is:

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b/ To renovate the method of teaching and learning, to develop the creative thinking and the self-study capacity of the students.

c/ To attain the general education level of the countries in the region and in the world.

d/ To create favorable conditions for specialization of education after basic secondary education and general secondary education, to well prepare the students to continue post-secondary education or take part in labor in society.

3. The renovation of the program and text-books of general education must ensure the following principles:

a/ To have a firm grasp of the objectives and requirements in the contents and methods of education at the various grades and levels of education stipulated in the Education Law.

b/ To ensure the systematic, inheritance and development character of the educational program suited to the practice and traditions of Vietnam, to acquire the achievements of advanced education in the world.

c/ To carry out standardization, modernization and socialization. To ensure uniformity in knowledge and know-how standards, to increase the continuity with vocational education and post-secondary education, at the same time to work out plans to make the program and textbooks suited to the conditions and circumstances of different areas; to selectively introduce into the program the advances of modern science and technology suited to the capacity of understanding of the students; to attach utmost importance to the practicability according to the motto "learning going along with practice, combining education with productive labor, the school with society".

d/ To conduct synchronically the renovation of the program, textbooks and the method of teaching and learning with the basic renovation of the method of evaluation, the system of graduation and entrance examinations, renovation of the training and fostering of the contingent of teachers, renovation of the management of education, to upgrade the material bases of the schools through standardization, to ensure schooling equipment and teaching aids.

4. The Ministry of Education and Training shall work out a general plan of renovating the program of general education and submit it to the Government for approval in July 2001. This shall include also the question of improving the organization of teaching and learning foreign languages and informatics at general education schools, and the guidelines for designing the objectives and programs of education, standardization of knowledge and the teaching plan for the general secondary technical schools.

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a/ The plan must point out what to be done, the results to be attained for each job, the measures to be taken, the time for completion, the necessary and mobilizable resources, and define the responsibilities of the concerned units and agencies. To set out the principles for a general design of the objectives and the common knowledge standards for the whole general education program, the distribution of the program and plan of teaching at different levels and grades in a scientific manner without repetition or overlapping; to create a close and continuous relation among different forms: general secondary, vocational secondary and vocational education; to make good preparations for the subsequent training period of post- secondary education.

b/ On the preparation of the program, textbooks and teachers� books, it is necessary to mobilize and rally the scientists, pedagogists, experienced educational managers knowledgeable of general education as well as capable teachers in the compilation, examination and testing of the new program and textbooks and in guiding the application thereof to different localities.

To organize wide consultation with the various social strata, from the direct participants who are teachers and educational managers to the scientists and especially the pupils� parents, seriously draw experiences and make adjustments in time before large-scale application. To combine wide consultation with small-scale seminars among experts on the educational program. To assure the process of compilation and examination and gathering of suggestions, experimentation and completion to take place in a serious, scientific, objective and realistic way.

To design the curricula of various levels of education suited to the organization of one-session - a-day teaching in the transitional period when conditions do not permit large-scale organization of two-sessions-a-day teaching for pupils of general schools.

c/ On the building of the contingent of teachers, it is necessary to draw up very concrete plans on the fostering of teachers to carry out the new program. It is necessary to make careful calculations to adopt measures to renovate the training program at the teachers� schools in order to meet the need of renovating the general education program and step by step renovating the teachers’ teaching method to replace the obsolete method which is still prevalent now.

d/ On the material-technical bases and teaching aids: it is necessary to draw up a concrete plan to ensure adequate equipment and teaching aids to carry out the new program and the new method of teaching and learning, including the early organization of study subject classrooms and laboratories at basic secondary schools and general secondary schools. There must be a mechanism for the class-giving teachers to examine and test the teaching aids in teaching before their large-scale production and use.

Special priority must be given to supplying teaching aids to the mountainous, rural, deep-lying and remote areas still meeting with many difficulties. At the same time, it is necessary to mobilize more resources in society in the building and upgrading of the material bases and equipment of the schools.

e/ On other measures of assistance:

To intensify the education inspection in order to ensure serious and effective implementation of the new program and the need of renovating the teaching method.

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f/ On the tempo of implementation:

To urgently and well complete the preparations in order to carry out teaching and learning under the new program in the whole country, beginning with the 1st form and 6th form in the 2002-2003 school-year and the 10th form in the 2004-2005 school-year. To strive to get all the last forms of all levels of education to carry out the new program and use the new textbooks in the 2006-2007 school-year.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training in drawing up the financial plan, mobilizing loans and non-refundable aid from foreign countries, capital from society and other sources to meet the need of renovating the general education program.

6. The Ministry of Finance shall assume prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Education and Training in giving priority to allocating State budget funds and making timely allocations to ensure fundings for the renovation of the general education program.

7. The Government Commission for Organization and Personnel shall assume prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in reappraising the personnel and working out the policy toward teachers in order to meet the need of renovating the general education program.

8. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in elaborating and perfecting the program of vocational training, ensuring the close coherence and continuity between the vocational schools, and secondary and post-secondary schools and effectively carrying out specialization after basic secondary education.

9. The presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall:

- Focus the guidance and create conditions for the local education services to assure the tempo and quality of the renovation of the general education program according to the plan of the Ministry of Education and Training.

- Care for building the contingent of teachers to ensure their sufficient number suited to the structure of study subjects, achieve the training criteria as stipulated by the Education Law, and encourage and create conditions for the teachers to continue raising their standards after attaining the criteria.

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- Consolidate and strengthen the managerial apparatus of education in the localities and at the grassroots level, strengthen order and discipline in education, at the same time promote the dynamism and creativity of the contingent of teachers and ensure good implementation of the renovation of the general education program.

10. The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and all member organizations of the Front, the social organizations and socio-professional organizations are hereby requested to take part in and assist the process of renovating the general education program.

11. The Minister of Education and Training shall have to monitor and urge the implementation of this Directive and regularly report the results to the Prime Minister.

12. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Directive.

PRIME MINISTER




Phan Van Khai