Updated: 12/10/06 Continuing Education in Vietnam

Continuing Education Department

Continuing education is a subdivision of the system of education. Continuing education has been established and developed for over the past 50 years. This is a form of training and education that creates conditions for those who do not have opportunity to study in full-time and regular courses. During the past years, continuing education has mainly focused on anti-illiteracy activities, complementary learning and in-service training and fostering. Over the past 50 years, the anti-illiteracy drive in Vietnam has been in the process of long-term, persistent and tenacious development with the participation of a broad range of social forces, leading to great achievements. After the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945), anti-illiteracy was considered an important policy of the State and President Ho Chi Minh launched a campaign of illiteracy elimination. Anti-illiteracy movement kept developing during the period of struggle against French colonists (1946-1954). After the North of Vietnam was entirely liberated in 1954, Vietnam outlined a plan on large and strong scale to continue the cause of anti-illiteracy and to promote education among the population. The campaign of illiteracy elimination in the period 1956-1958 contributed greatly to the elimination of illiteracy among the people in the North. After reunification of Vietnam in 1975, movements of anti-illiteracy, complementary learning, in-service training and fostering of southern provinces were developed rapidly based on experiences of northern provinces in order to overcome the consequences of a prolonged period of occupation and low intellectual ratios. As a nation with 95% of population illiterate before the August Revolution (1945), Vietnam succeeded to gain a literacy rate of 88% in 1990 and 92% in 1998. 42 out of 64 provinces with 486 out of 597 districts, 9,213 out of 10,299 wards and communes were recognized to have obtained the national standard of anti-illiteracy and universalization of primary education. Complementary education programs in Vietnam expanded from 1947-1948 under different titles such as mass primary education, mass secondary education through development stages of the country. After 1954, with pressing requirements to upgrade the education qualifications for officials and workmen for the cause of building the North and unifying the country, Vietnam set forth the goal of promoting complementary education on large scale. Efforts were made to develop mass education aiming at upgrading basic cultural knowledge for civil servants and workmen so that they could actively contribute to the building of the country. The goal to make primary education universalized to cadres and good youth in districts, provinces through complementary education was set forth in the first 5-year plan 1960-1965. For the goal to be achieved a system of complementary schools and classes was built such as Complementary schools for workmen and peasants, Secondary schools of labor, Complementary schools of civil administration, etc. Complementary classes were opened at factories, firms, and forestation farms for the convenience of learners in shift or out of working time. It became a widespread movement for complementary education.

After 50 years of development, the system of continuing education has been strongly established at all levels ranging from central to local with 55 provincial continuing education centers, 494 district centers, 581 foreign languages and computer centers, 71 secondary vocational and professional schools, 94 complementary education schools and 514 community education centers and distant-learning centers operated by 10 universities nationwide. According to statistics of the school year 2001-2002, 44,222 learners are participating in primary education complimentary classes, 206,219 in lower secondary classes and 286,749 in upper secondary classes, 39,819 learners are studying at secondary vocational and professional schools, 125,239 in computer centers at A, B, and C levels and 330,636 in foreign language centers at A, B, and C levels. The Continuing Education Department together with local education authorities have always paid attention to the improvement of classrooms, equipment for these schools and centers, as well as to the professional improvement of teaching staff so that training quality can be maintained and developed. Since 1994 distance-learning centers have been established inside some universities. Currently, 10 universities have been granted permission of the Ministry of Education and Training to conduct distant-learning programs through satellite centers nationwide with 58,358 students. Together with the increasing number of students, a system of hundreds of textbooks has been developed in support of these distance-learning programs. The objective of continuing education is to bring study opportunities to everyone for their lifelong study needs towards building a learning society, upgrading peoples intellectual abilities and training human resources for the industrialization and modernization of the country. In the coming years, the following responsibilities will be taken by continuing education: - Illiteracy elimination classes be maintained so that the literacy rate will be increased among those from 15 to 35 of age in favorable regions, to 25 of age in disadvantaged regions and among illiterate people of other age groups as well. To increase the number of wards and communes achieving national standards of illiteracy elimination to 100% in favorable regions and to 95% in disadvantaged regions is another goal that continuing education sets forth. - After-illiteracy-elimination classes be opened widely for beginners. Complementary classes from elementary to secondary levels will also be kept to ensure quality and efficiency of the illiteracy elimination campaign. - Community education centers be opened in communes and wards of favorable regions and expanded gradually to disadvantaged regions. - Continuing education centers at provinces and districts as well as complementary education schools be developed nationwide on an on-going basis. - Foreign language centers and computer centers be given more attention to ensure the quality of applied computer science and foreign languages education at A, B, and C levels.

- Distance-learning programs be promoted and strengthened through the improvement of equipment and resources. The development and renovation of curriculum and teaching, learning materials are of great importance. - The process of monitoring, assessing and evaluating continuing education activities be improved to ensure the teaching and learning quality in continuing education centers and schools.