State to relinquish control of services
Ha Noi — A recent resolution states the Government’s intention to give up aspects of ownership and control of several key State-owned functions like education, health care and cultural and sport activities between now and 2010.
The document functions as a review of the first and second Government resolutions (1997 and 1999), focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the last seven years of implementing the Government policy.
Resolution 05/2005/ND-CP, cites various shortcomings. Among the failures, the State subsidy regime has drained the already limited Government budget, resulting in a lack of care for the poor and other entitlement beneficiaries.
The resolution cited two primary objectives for future policy makers:
1) That private citizens and non-governmental organisations should share the Government’s financial burden for education, health care and cultural and sports activities as part of an effort to raise additional revenue.
2) That less dependence on State-funding will improve services in said fields.
With regards to State responsibilities in education and training, the resolution confirms the Government’s commitment to providing quality education while also focusing primarily on budget priorities.
To alleviate the need for additional funding, the Government has set specific targets for supplementing public schools with private and non-State institutions. According to the resolution, future educational policies should strive to reduce the number of students at public day-care centres to 20 percent, 30 percent for kindergartens, 60 percent for senior secondary schools, 70 percent for vocational secondary schools, 40 percent for vocational training centres and 60 percent for universities and colleges.
With regards to health care, by 2010, most public hospitals will operate under a "service oriented mechanism", and the resolution states the Government’s intention to provide health insurance cards for all Vietnamese citizens. This pay-for-care system will require all semi-public medical establishments to change either to the dan lap (people’s founded health care establishment which is sponsored by an organisation) or private model.
The resolution also addressed cultural and sport funding issues. The Government pledged to transfer control of cultural activities and all public cultural establishments to a "service-oriented mechanism".
The same regime will also be applied to public sport establishments. The resolution sets a target for increasing the number of non-state owned sports centres to 80-85 percent. By that deadline, officials hope Vietnamese athletes will be capable of competing in most regional and global sporting events.
To ensure these targets are met, the government promises to continue direct and transparent reform efforts and management.
Viet Nam News, May 16, 2005
