Audrey Azoulay is on official visit to Vietnam from 5 to 7 September. During her first day in the country, the Director-General of UNESCO visited the Ngo Si Lien secondary school in Hanoi - an establishment that is part of UNESCO Associated Schools Network - to officially launch the school year alongside the Deputy Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, Ngo Thi Minh.
Vietnam has based its development model on major investments in education. This is the guarantee of social cohesion and sustainable development. I am here to pay tribute to this commitment and to express that UNESCO will continue to support the country and help face the challenges in the years to come in this field.Audrey Azoulay UNESCO Director-General
Over the past two years, despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching and learning process has not been interrupted, and continuation of education was ensured through distance learning, noted the UNESCO office in Vietnam.
Deputy Minister Ngo Thi Minh expressed her "great pleasure at the visit of Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, which coincided with the start of the new school year, and at being able to attend the opening ceremony in person rather than online, as Hanoi and many other cities had to do the previous year". Deputy Minister Ngo Thi Minh stated that "the government's right decisions and the efforts of the whole education sector enabled Vietnam's education system to remain strong during the pandemic, turning the problems of the COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to innovate and transform education, particularly in the area of using technology in teaching and learning, and to accelerate digital transformation in education".
The Vietnamese authorities want to further amplify their efforts, as they explained today to the Director-General of UNESCO when presenting their new Education Development Strategic Plan for 2030, and the national commitment that Vietnam will present at the Transforming Education Summit.
Vietnam today announced its commitment to:
- Ensure that education expenditure accounts for at least 20% of total government expenditure.
- Gradually exempt families from tuition fees in early childhood and lower secondary education.
- Invest in specialized facilities for educational institutions in remote, mountainous and island areas.
- Increase investments in higher education institutions, research and innovation.
The strategy also includes strengthening the Education Sector's governance system and the teaching career, developing dynamic and flexible schools that respond to the needs of young people, and promoting technology and digitalization in education.
A few days before the Transforming Education Summit at United Nations Headquarters, these new commitments from Vietnam are a significant step to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, that is quality education for all by 2030. I call on all our other Member States to also make bold commitments for education at this unique occasion.Audrey Azoulay UNESCO Director-General
