85% of young people complete high school or equivalent: Expanding learning opportunities and conditions

Many opinions believe that implementing this goal opens up great opportunities to universalize high school through flexible forms: high school, vocational high school, and continuing education . Of course, much effort is needed to realize this goal.

Opportunities for vocational high school development

Mr. Le Van Hoa - Director of the Center for Continuing Education - Information Technology, Foreign Languages of Quang Tri province said that the goal of 85% of young people completing high school or equivalent by 2030 should be understood in an open way. "Completing high school" should be understood as students completing the high school program and being granted a certificate by the Principal, not necessarily passing the high school graduation exam.

During the learning process, students are regularly and periodically assessed to ensure the quality of their grades and output standards. The concept of "equivalence" should be understood as students studying high school programs at vocational secondary schools, vocational colleges, vocational colleges, etc. and are recognized as having completed the program. This approach both expands the path for students after junior high school and requires standardization of programs and quality to ensure real equivalence.

In the context of streamlining the payroll, restructuring the general school system and high population growth rate in urban areas, the implementation of the above goal poses many challenges. According to Mr. Le Van Hoa, it is necessary to promote the role of current vocational education and continuing education centers, and in the near future, the vocational high school system. The implementation of Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW will open up opportunities to develop a network of vocational high schools nationwide, contributing to reducing the burden on high schools and aiming to achieve the goal of student streaming after secondary school by 2030 set by the Ministry of Education and Training .

The Ministry of Education and Training needs to have guidelines and clarify the concept of 'equivalent to high school' according to international standards (ISCED level 3), to avoid the situation where each place understands it differently, causing confusion for learners and society. Sharing this, Mr. Pham Kim Thu - Principal of Friendship College (Nghe An) stated the opinion: "equivalent to high school" should be understood as completing high school education through a path other than graduating from high school, such as vocational high school (integrating culture and vocational training), or a continuing education program that meets the corresponding output standards, qualifying for higher education.

Affirming that vocational secondary school is an important solution contributing to realizing the goal of 85% of young people completing high school or equivalent by 2030, Mr. Pham Kim Thu explained: This model helps retain students after junior high school, especially those who do not have the desire or conditions to attend high school.

Combining cultural and vocational education, helping learners have both a general education foundation and practical vocational skills, linked to local labor needs. Vocational high school graduates can also continue their studies at college, university, or enter the labor market with trained skills.

Synchronize solutions to realize goals

According to Mr. Phung Quoc Lap - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho, "equivalent to high school" can be understood as students studying the continuing education program at high school level (currently being implemented), and in the future, vocational high school. To achieve 85% of young people completing high school or equivalent, Mr. Phung Quoc Lap suggested synchronous solutions.

Mr. Lap emphasized the need to mobilize the entire political system, organizations and people to participate in education and training; strengthen propaganda and encourage students to study high school or equivalent; have appropriate support policies for students from ethnic minority, border, island and especially difficult circumstances to study high school.

Also offering solutions, Mr. Pham Kim Thu is primarily concerned with perfecting the legal framework for vocational secondary schools. Accordingly, vocational training institutions are allowed to directly teach high school cultural content; standardize the integrated cultural - vocational program, ensuring that graduates have academic capacity equivalent to high school and the right to continue studying. Along with that are financial and incentive policies; there is a mechanism for ordering vocational secondary school training linked to business needs.

Open a “second door” for people of other ages through the strong development of continuing education programs, online learning, make-up learning, and re-learning, creating opportunities for young workers who have not completed their studies to complete a high school-equivalent level. Promote early career guidance from grades 8-9 so that students have suitable choices, reduce the rate of dropping out of school due to lack of orientation, and help them see clearly the value of completing high school or equivalent.

Proposing solutions to realize the goal of 85% of young people completing high school or equivalent, Mr. Le Van Hoa emphasized 5 things to do:

Firstly, focus on accurately assessing the situation of facilities, staff and learning needs of people in each locality, thereby promptly building a roadmap to arrange continuing education centers and vocational education-continuation education centers into vocational high schools, in order to promptly meet the learning needs of high schools.

Second, it is necessary to reorganize the system of secondary schools and vocational colleges in localities, and at the same time issue a mechanism to allow these schools to enroll students after junior high school. Thereby, both organizing vocational training and coordinating with competent educational institutions to implement high school programs for students studying vocational training at these schools.

Third, it is necessary to encourage the private sector to invest in developing vocational high school models in large cities, in order to promptly address the pressure of population growth and contribute to increasing the rate of students attending high school programs. Attracting the private sector to participate in the vocational training system is also the fastest and most effective way to link training with the practical needs of the labor market.

Fourth, based on the 2018 General Education Program, the Ministry of Education and Training will study and adjust and reduce the content to facilitate and ensure that students can both study vocational and general education, avoiding overload. At the same time, it will build a unified assessment tool to ensure equivalent output standards throughout the education system.

Fifth, it is necessary to prioritize investment in facilities, equipment and technology for vocational schools, ensuring substantial training: vocational students must love the profession, be able to work in the profession after graduation and be able to make a living from it. At the same time, it is necessary to end the long-standing waste in vocational training such as: learning a profession but not mastering vocational skills; vocational teachers are not proficient in the profession; training is based on support projects and not based on the needs of learners and the labor market.

“Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW opens up great opportunities to universalize high school education for a large number of young people in flexible forms. If legal, financial and organizational solutions are implemented synchronously, the goal of 85% of young people completing high school or equivalent by 2030 is completely feasible, at the same time creating a foundation to improve the quality of Vietnamese human resources in the new development stage”. - Mr. Pham Kim Thu

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/85-thanh-nien-hoan-thanh-thpt-hoac-tuong-duong-mo-rong-co-hoi-dieu-kien-hoc-tap-post749017.html