Hanoi (VNA) – Ethics and lifestyle education wasamong the issues Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested the Ministry ofEducation and Training (MoET) to focus on in the approaching new academic year,while addressing a meeting in Hanoi on August 6.

The national teleconference reviewed the2018-2019 academic year and launched tasks for the 2019-2020 one.

PM Phuc recognised the overall improvement inthe education sector, noting that according to the annual sustainabledevelopment report of the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network andGermany’s Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation, Vietnam ranks second in SoutheastAsia in terms of the Sustainable Development Goals Index, and education is inthe second place among its five sub-indexes with 91 out of 100 points. TwoVietnamese universities have entered the list of the world’s top 1,000universities while seven have been named among the leading universities inAsia.

Those are the results of great efforts by theeducation sector, he said.

Pointing out certain shortcomings, he said ethics,lifestyle and life skill education still falls short of expectations, that iswhy the MoET needs to overhaul the ethics and lifestyle curriculum to ensureits effectiveness.

Ethics and lifestyle education should not be limitedinside school campus but carried out in a way helping students experiencetraditions and culture by themselves, such as organising visits to martyrs’cemeteries, revolution contributors or disadvantaged areas to help them gain aninsight into the life, he noted.

An exemplary teacher is the most valuableethical example for students to follow, the PM stressed, adding that massorganisations are also responsible for joining hands with schools and familiesin educating students on ethics and lifestyle.

The Government leader assigned the MoET to drafta directive on the enhancement of ethics and lifestyle education in schools andsubmit it to him for promulgation ahead of the new academic year.

At the teleconference, the Government leaderdemanded stronger efforts to improve human resources training to create ahigh-quality workforce. Meanwhile, it is necessary to issue mechanisms andpolicies for universities to exercise autonomy.

He ordered the MoET to consider the pilot grantingof autonomy to eligible public preschool and general education establishments,noting that even with autonomy, they must also not ignore the Party and State’seducational principles.

Additionally, PM Phuc called for more attentionto education in mountainous areas. He said State agencies must ensure schoolinfrastructure, increase the teaching staff and create favourable conditionsfor teachers and students in those regions so that no students are left behinddue to economic difficulties. -VNA