Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Dec. 29 (VNA) -- Vice State President Nguyen Thi Binh launched a campaign for the universalization of junior secondary education drive in Ha Noi on Dec. 28.

The Vice President asked the educational sector to renovate general education programme to ensure that by 2010 almost all of Viet Nam's people would finish junior secondary school before the age of 18.

The goal is based on previous achievements by the educational sector.

In launching the campaign, the Vice President announced that Viet Nam had achieved national standards in the universalization of primary education and literacy by the end of June, fulfilling the targets set for education in the past ten years.

All 61 provinces and cities nationwide had met the standards with 94 percent aged between 15 and 35 able to read and write and more than 90 percent 14-year-old children completing primary-school education.

The success has been attributed to the efforts of the entire nation over the past 55 years, particularly in the last ten years of renovation.

Viet Nam has conducted three campaigns against illiteracy since 1945. As a result, almost all school-age children have been able to attend school and illiteracy has been reduced.

The Vice President acknowledged the help from other countries, international organizations, foreign friends and oversease Vietnamese in the victory.

Reviewing education development in the last decade, she said that Viet Nam had more than two million illiterates aged between 15-35 in 1990. More than 2.1 million children aged from six to 14 yearsdrop outs or did not attend school.

This was because of poor facilities, shortage of teachers and limited awareness about the need for education among the people, especially those in remote and isolated areas.

To improve the situation, the Government to established a national committee for illiteracy eradication in 1989, it task was to implement illiteracy elimination from 1990 to 2000. In 1991, the National Assembly adopted the Primary Education Universalization Law.

Recognizing the importance of education, the Communist Party of Viet Nam at its seventh and eighth national congresses affirmed that illiteracy elimination and the universalization of primary education were national goals that had to be completed by 2000.

As a result, the Government had spent between VND 10 billion and VND 40 billion for education each year for the past ten years.

This means education infrastructure had been upgraded and the quantity and quality of teaching staff had been improved.

In addition, the education sector have made great efforts to overcome difficulties in the early 1990s. It had coordinated with the Fatherland Front, Youth Union, Women's Union, Farmers' Association and other organizations to make the eradication of illiteracy and universal primary-school education social activities.

Further, cirricula had been diversified and people in poor areas encouraged to go to school.--VNA