At the conference to review the implementation of the national learning society programme for the 2012-2020 period (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The development of a learning society is to build a special resource for the country, stated Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son during a virtual conference held on June 18 to review the implementation of the national learning society programme for the 2012-2020 period.

Addressing the event, Minister Son said that the capacity to self-study and sharpen one’s skills is the route to building other skills and capacities.

Therefore, a country with a developed and dynamic learning society also owns a rich national resource, he said.

Impressive achievements

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do, the network of educational facilities, with the core being those for continuing education, has been developed and expanded over the past 8 years.

Vietnam currently has over 17,000 continuing education facilities, including 71 province-level centres, 619 district-level centres, over 10,000 community learning centres, 5,642 foreign language and computer literacy centres and 658 life skill education centres.

The number of private centres has been growing rapidly, helping enhance foreign language and computer skills for students, teachers, civil servants and all citizens.

In its report, the MOET stated the learning society programme has made an important contribution to education universalisation and the eradication of illiteracy.

Specifically, all 63 provinces and cities have achieved universal nursery education, universal level-two primary education and universal level-one secondary education.

Literacy courses have also been held across the country to help over 300,000 people aged between 15-60 learn to read and write.

Over the next ten years, the learning society programme will focus on enhancing public awareness of the benefits of life-long education, and stepping up the use of information technology in education.

The programme will also forge a closer link between forma♐l and continuing education and between education in both family life and society.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son addresses the event (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Ensuring equal opportunities for studying

Along with the achieved goals, Deputy Minister Do also pointed to a number of shortcomings during the implementation of the programme, including the limited awareness and responsibility for building a learning society in some localities and agencies.

Training activities in some localities have yet to match the requirements of employers, he noted, adding that life-long learning for those out of school is not yet diverse enough to meet the demands of different groups. The engagement of higher education facilities in learning encouragement and learning society building has been modest, he said.

Participants at the confer🤪ence gave their opinions on how to improve the efficiency of the programme over the 2021-2030 period, including stronger communication and the application of technology to learning activities.

The Ministry of Education and Training honours individuals and collectives showing strong performance in implementing the scheme (Photo: VietnamPlus)

For the 2021-2030 period, the programme aims to form a system of open, flexible and connected education, ensuring that by 2030, everyone will have equal access to high-quality life-long learning.

At the event, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the building of a learning society is the mission of not only the education and training sector but also the whole society and political system with the Ministry of Education and Training playing the central role.

He stressed that before building a society of life-long learning, it is necessary to develop individuals for life-long learning. The gathering of studious people will form a large collective of eager learners and a society that can create a demand for learning and provide sufficient conditions to meet the demands of all learners everywhere.

According to Minister Son, the task of the ministry and other relevant agencies and sectors is to promote and encourage people’s demands for studying by any means necessary.

“Once completi༺ng these targets, we can successfully build a learning society,” stated the minister./☂.