The Mekong Delta region includes 13 provinces and cities, of which Can Tho is directly under the central government. For many years, the investment of the State budget, the mobilization of social resources for education has always been a concern of district and municipal leaders in the region.
The teaching and learning facilities and equipment were completed step by step. The quality of teaching and training is increasingly being improved to respond to the socio-economic development needs of the region’s localities.
In the 2010-2011 school year, the whole district had 1,687 preschool facilities, 18,045 class groups, in the 2019-2020 school year, the whole district had 2,002 preschool institutions and 20,543 class groups.
At the secondary level, the district’s student population approaches the national average, with a student-to-institution ratio of 911.5 students.
In the 2019-2020 school year, the high school completion rate was 97.64%, ranking second in 6 regions and higher than the national high school completion rate (96.74%).
The teaching staff at the region’s locations is basically sufficient both in terms of quantity and quality. In the 2019-2020 school year, the district had 176,173 teachers in all grades.
The total budgetary expenditure for education and training in the Mekong Delta region from 2010 to 2021 will be VND 491,549.65 billion (including VND 425,082.48 billion of recurrent expenses and capital expenditure). 66,374.85 billion VND).
According to the deputy minister of Education and Training, Pham Ngoc Thong, although there have been many positive results, education in provinces and cities located in the Mekong Delta still faces some difficulties.
That is, the rate of mobilization of children in schools is still low, especially in day care centers; The network of schools and classes is still very fragmented, and there must be many schools, mainly in places where dunes and plains abound.
The enrollment rate of secondary school students to attend school at the appropriate age remains below the national average, especially at the primary and secondary levels. This is also the region with the lowest percentage of skilled workers (14.9%) and the lowest percentage of the workforce with higher and higher education (6.8%) in the country (Ordinary Economic Report, 2022).
Educational facilities and equipment at schools in the district meet only the minimum requirements for implementing preschool and general education programs.
A Proposal To Build A National Standard School Exclusively For This Area
Vice Chairman of Vinh Long Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Quyn Thanh said that due to the characteristics of the river’s topography and difficult traffic, the Mekong Delta has the highest number of individual schools in the country.
Therefore, said Mrs. Quyễn Thanh, for education in the region’s localities, it is necessary to focus on reviewing the education network, overcoming fragmentation and individual points, and guaranteeing facilities, teams, teachers and teaching quality.
Also according to the deputy head of Vinh Long Provincial People’s Committee, because the gross domestic product and economic growth rates of provinces and cities in the region are not high, and agriculture is mainly small and exotic, so it also affects farmers’ investment. State budget for education.
To teach the Mekong Delta to achieve better results next time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quen Thanh suggested:
First: it is necessary to pay attention and invest in education, consider it as a supreme national policy, invest in the best and highest possible education and review the investment in schools from preschool to high school.
Second: it is necessary to pay attention and create a specific mechanism and policy for the Mekong Delta, such as the policies of teachers and civil servants who allocate lunch money to them, kindergartens and first grade children on the banks of the river.
Given that there is a high percentage of children who drop out of school in the region’s localities, it is also necessary to have specific policies to develop the vocational education system and policies to encourage the attendance of professional training.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Quốn Thanh suggested that the Ministry of Education and Training advise the government to develop a project to build a provincial national standard school in the Mekong Delta.
Speaking to a reporter for the Online Journal of Vietnamese Education, Mr. Tran Quang Bao, director of the Education and Training Department of Qin Giang Province, said the province suggests that the party committee and local government identify and be rigorous in planning land for development.
