General Secretary To Lam: Caring and expecting a young generation with aspirations

TPO - Experts and school administrators said that the speech of General Secretary To Lam at the opening ceremony of the new school year is very important with close instructions for the education sector in the context of rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence, it is necessary to set out requirements for strong innovation and breakthroughs while expressing the desire and expectation for a generation of students with aspirations and mastery of technology.

Báo Tiền Phong•07/09/2025

On September 5, 2025, General Secretary To Lam attended the opening ceremony of the new school year and delivered an important speech, affirming that education is always the top national policy and the key driving force for national development.

Expressing expectations for the younger generation

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Principal of Nguyen Sieu Secondary and High School, acknowledged that the General Secretary 's speech with its message expressing special concern and expectations for the young generation will turn Resolution 71 into reality.

According to Ms. Thuy, Resolution 71 not only guides development and integration, but also has a breakthrough nature. In the context of technology and artificial intelligence developing rapidly, if we do not create breakthroughs, Vietnamese education will be at risk of stagnating compared to the world . On the contrary, only when we dare to make strong breakthroughs can we create leaps, shorten the gap and gradually move forward.

In his speech, the General Secretary affirmed that Resolution 71 is of utmost importance, with strategic vision, large and specific goals, tasks, and strong breakthrough solutions, bringing Vietnamese education and training into the flow of world education and needs to be quickly put into practice.

Students of Nguyen Sieu Secondary and High School participated in a welcoming performance at the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Education and Training.

As global education continues to move forward, Vietnam needs a breakthrough to achieve the goal set by the General Secretary: to bring our country's education into the top 20 in the world. To do so, Resolution 71 requires us to act decisively, energetically and keep up with global development trends.

Ms. Thuy said that with the right orientation, the current generation of Vietnamese students will have enough knowledge and courage to become future global citizens. Education will make a breakthrough to reach the world if today's students are cared for and develop their comprehensive capacity, approaching international trends.

That orientation also helps to clearly shape the portrait of the Vietnamese generation in the era of rising up, associated with three core values: talented, benevolent, resilient, demonstrating the General Secretary's expectation of a new generation that develops comprehensive capacity but still does not forget its roots, maintaining the traditional Vietnamese ethics of 'learning manners first, then learning literature'.

Ms. Thuy shared: "In his speech, the General Secretary continued to affirm that education is the top national policy. This is a very correct viewpoint because all developed countries consider education as a top priority. Changing education means changing from the root - to form citizens of the new century, with the capacity to integrate and compete globally. On the contrary, if education does not change, we will not be able to have the generation of global citizens as desired.

Not only with students, educational administrators like us also have a clearer awareness of our role in achieving the expectations and wishes of the General Secretary."

Do not impose old standards on modern education

Dr. Dang Tu An, Director of the Vietnam General Education Innovation Support Fund, said that General Secretary To Lam's speech at the opening ceremony of the new school year conveyed important messages, including emphasizing that "the entire Party must strongly innovate its leadership thinking on education, not impose old standards on a modern education system, but need to closely and substantially direct" as well as "investing in education is investing in the future of the nation".

According to Dr. An, first of all, it must be said that the Ministry of Education and Training organized a national opening ceremony, at one hour, teachers and students from all over the country sang the national anthem in unison, and listened to the school opening drum, directly from the General Secretary, which was very special.

The sound of drums echoed far and wide, reaching millions of teachers and students, tens of thousands of schools across the country, who were joyfully singing to welcome the great festival of education. It can be understood that this is also the solemn opening ceremony of the new school year, the 80th of Vietnamese schools.

The General Secretary recalled Uncle Ho's letter to students on the occasion of the first school opening day of independent education in September 1945 and quoted Uncle Ho's letter advising that Vietnamese education must be "an education that fully develops the students' inherent abilities".

Students of Luong The Vinh Secondary and High School on the opening day of the new school year.

In his speech, the General Secretary also stated, "The entire Party must strongly innovate its leadership thinking on education, not imposing old standards on a modern education system, but need to closely and substantially direct, organize and implement resolutely, effectively, and consistently consider education as the top national policy."

When implementing the new general education program with new teaching methods but still the same old people, somewhere there are still old-fashioned implementation methods and old-style imposition.

The General Secretary also reminded the education sector to “pioneer in innovation of thinking, methods, and management; build a team of teachers who are both knowledgeable, ethical, and have a desire to contribute. Teachers must be shining examples and a source of inspiration for students. Students must nurture great ambitions and aspirations, study and practice to become global citizens, gradually integrating into international standards but always maintaining the Vietnamese identity and soul.”

Dr. Dang Tu An also commented that the 9 major orientations for education and training innovation include: Innovation in thinking, taking quality - fairness - integration and efficiency as a measure; Ensuring equality in access to education, leaving no child behind; Comprehensive innovation in general education: knowledge - personality - physical; Creating breakthroughs in universities and vocational education, linking training with research and the market; Promoting international integration in education; Building a team of teachers with knowledge, ethics, and aspiration to contribute. Strongly applying digital transformation and AI in teaching and learning; Prioritizing investment and mobilizing social resources for education; Building a learning society and lifelong learning are all important contents, of great significance and urgency for education today.

The General Secretary expressed his hope that students would nurture their aspirations, master technology, and cultivate their personalities to become global citizens with Vietnamese identity. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude to the team of teachers who have been persistently dedicated, hoping that teachers will continue to innovate, pioneer digital transformation, and maintain their role in leading and inspiring students.

The General Secretary's message continued to emphasize: Education and training, together with science and technology, are the top national policies. With a tradition of studiousness, dedicated teachers and the support of the entire society, the education sector will continue to make a major contribution to the determination of Vietnam's aspiration for a strong and prosperous country.

The final message strongly concluded by the General Secretary was: “Investing in education is investing in the future of the nation.”