VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has admitted that the number of localities recognized as meeting the universalization standards remains modest, while Vietnam only has two years more to fulfill the 5-year-old universalization program.

The northern province of Vinh Phuc was one of the six localities which were recognized as meeting the standards of the universalization program. In fact, the province began the program on developing nursery schools very soon, before the government approved the national plan in 2010.

With the large system of nursery schools, mostly semi-state owned and people founded at that time, Vinh Phuc spent the local budget to pay to nursery school teachers and give financial support to them to take healthcare insurance policies.

In 2007, the provincial authorities released the decision to exempt the tuitions for the children in rural areas.

In 2009, Vinh Phuc shifted 158 semi-state owned schools into state owned ones. Since then, nursery schools have become equal to general schools in accessing the local authorities’ support.

With the money poured in from the local budget, nursery schools in the locality have seen material facilities upgraded and the teachers become the permanent workers.

“Vinh Phuc can reach the finish very soon thanks to the local authorities’ principle of making heavy investment on pre-school education,” said Nguyen Xuan Truong, Deputy Director of the provincial education department.

Being a mountainous province, Lao Cai does not have much money to spend on the program. However, it still can go very far in the path of universalization.

The provincial authorities have spent VND385 billion over the last three years to build 761 schools. Nguyen An Ninh, Director of the Lao Cai provincial Education and Training Department, noted that the local authorities have never been so determined in investing in the education sector.

Nevertheless, Vinh Phuc and Lao Cai are the two of the very few provinces which have fulfilled the universaliation program.

“We initially planned to fulfill the program by 2014, but we have asked the deadline to be delayed for one year. We are still in big difficulties,” said Tran Xuan Hung, Director of the Yen Bai provincial Education and Training Department.

The communes which still cannot meet the universalization program’s standards are mostly located in the two poorest districts of Tram Tau and Mu Cang Chai.

The government decided that the universalization program needs to be fulfilled by 2015. However, to date, 35 percent of provinces and cities reportedly still don’t have any districts meeting the standards.

Kien Giang province in the south, for example, only has 4.8 percent of communes meeting the standards, while the figures are 6.4 percent in Soc Trang and 9 percent in An Giang.

Yen Bai province needs to build 316 school classrooms more, mostly in the mountainous villages. At present, the children there go to villages’ cultural houses instead of schools to study.

Yen Bai needs more and more nursery schools to meet the increasingly high demand for babysitting services. However, though it has more than 100 nursery classes every year, it still cannot arrange enough seats for the children aged at less than 36 months.

VNN/Tien Phong