Education sector turns challenges into opportunities: minister

Education and Training Minister Nguyễn Kim Sơn talks to the Government Portal about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the education sector

What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the education and training sector?

It is true that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disturbances and seriously affected the education and training industry. Due to the pandemic, schools had to switch to online teaching, students were not allowed to go to school, and their study plans were turned upside down.

Therefore, it is very worrying that the quality of training may be affected and many problems have arisen because students have to stay at home for long periods of time. Especially for children at the primary school level, online learning causes many difficulties.

Leaders of the education sector have considered many options to minimise the negative impact of the pandemic on education and training without affecting the quality.

We have taken measures to strengthen student's knowledge when they return to school to study and to fill in the gaps in knowledge caused by the difficulties around online learning. In particular, these include more practice, practical experience, and the reinforcement of learned knowledge.

We have also considered increasing support resources and adjusting teaching and learning methods so that students can still absorb information while learning online. We see this pandemic as an opportunity for the education and training industry to digitally transform, from innovating methods to enhancing learning materials, equipping technical infrastructure, and so on.

I think the COVID-19 pandemic poses difficulties and challenges, but we also see this as an opportunity to innovate towards digital transformation.

With the pressure of training high-quality human resources to meet the growth requirements of the country, what are the priorities of the Ministry of Education and Training?

In order to realise the great goals set by the 13th Party Congress, there are many important things that need to be done for the education and training sector. We have identified the key tasks that need to be prioritised, which are groundbreaking.

Specifically, we are reviewing and adjusting mechanisms and policies, considering this a top priority because the policy mechanism itself is also an important resource.

If the mechanisms and policies are outdated and not in line with reality, they will cause a lot of obstacles. Therefore, it is necessary to review the old mechanisms and policies that must be adjusted to issue new more appropriate policies that can boost innovation in the education sector to train high-quality human resources.

Other solutions are also very important, such as a digital transformation in education and training and modernisation of infrastructure for education and training. We are paying a lot of attention to the consolidation and improvement in the quality of teachers from preschool to high school to the university level. At the university level, it is necessary to develop a system of leading experts, excellent experts, and leading technical experts. Those are the key solutions we will

deploy in the near future.

The 15th National Assembly has discussed the national target programmes on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2021-25 period and the new rural construction programme. What is the perspective of the education and training industry? How will the sector participate in this program?

We can still participate in a lot of things. For example, we can provide solutions to increase literacy in ethnic minority areas as well as provide textbooks and training for teachers in ethnic languages.

In addition, we can work to repair classrooms from kindergarten to high school or strengthen the capacity of boarding schools for ethnic minorities and universities in the Northwest and Central Highlands.