Speech by Associate Professor & Doctor Tran Xuan Nhi, Vice Chairman of Education Encouragement Association

At the 10^th Anniversary of HEDO Foundation and Seminar on Education - Science - Health Development and Poverty Abolition on 28^th March 2000.

 

Dear Presidency Board,

Distinguished international guest,

Dear delegates,

Today, Highland Education Development Organization (HEDO) holds the 10^th Anniversary of its Foundation. On behalf of Vietnam Education Encouragement Association, I would like to convey my warmest congratulation to distinguishes guests and delegates and to achievements HEDO has gained during the past years.

Highland and difficult areas where 53 ethnic group live in co-existence account for 3/4 of total area of our country. Any people who come there can see their difficulties and disadvantages. At the Review Conference of Implementation of 135/CP Direction on Highland Economic Development, many delegates had to say: Upland areas face “10 lacks” such as lack of school, lack of road, lack of clinic, lack of market, lack of electricity, lack of water, lack of bed, lack of room, lack of wardrobe and lack of food. Due  to historical and geographical condition, highland people have to endure many disadvantages.

During the past few years, State and Party have issued a lot of policy on investment with the aim of helping highland gradually get rid of difficulties and keep pace with lowland such as broadcasting and television coverage in upland programs, hunger eradication and poverty reduction programs. Last year, Program No135 was launched to focus on supporting 1,700 poor highland communes in the country...

In spite of State investment, highland areas still face a lot of difficulties, require support from domestic and foreign individuals and organizations. HEDO - a non-governmental organization under the auspice of Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Health and National Center for Natural Science and Technology - has actively worked and cooperated with international organizations to implement project for highland on the basis of education development and advanced technology transfer. Response to the objective program VII, Ministry of Education and Training has invested in education with total amount of over 500 billions dong to build school systems of Ministry. Each highland province has one high school. Every year, thousands of students graduate from these schools who are the source for being trained as University - College students. There is one secondary school with amount of 200 - 300 pupils in each highland district, boarding school in each highland commune. So far, there are nearly 100 thousands of boarding pupils who have sufficient living and learning conditions.

So the activities of Government agencies and NGOs including HEDO has made a great contribution to change the image of highland in the field of education, and gradually reduce difficulties for them.

Vietnamese Education Encouragement Association was founded some years ago. It is a NGO whose goal is to attract people especially retired teacher having devoted to education to continue working for the job they have chosen in all their lives. The Government approves for it to set up the organizational system from central to grassroots level. The main objective of the association is to socialize education outside school in order to combine with Ministry of Education and Training to reach a whole learning society.

At present, primary education generalization and anti-illiteracy has been nearly completed in 2000. The people at the age of over 25 who are key labor force, however, are illiteracy in mountainous areas. Therefore Vietnamese Education Encouragement Association and HEDO should cooperate each other to support highland education development, especially illiteracy abolition for adults combining with advanced technology transfer. If possible, it in combination with State invested project will promote education more effectively. Another problem is that lowland teachers who come to teach in upland areas lack of accommodation, HEDO as well as Education Encouragement Organization at grass-root level should look for funding source to build houses for them to be sure to teach.

With achievements HEDO has gained during the past 10 years, I hope that HEDO and Vietnamese Education Encouragement Association will make more effort to socialize education to build a whole learning society.

Once again I would like to congratulate the achievement of HEDO. Wishing all of you good health and happiness.