THE COMPULSORY EDUCATION – SOME ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION
Assoc. Prof., Dr. To Ba Truong
INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Email: [email protected]. Tel:0913091153
Abstract: The article presents a number of issues about the scientific basis and legal basis of the compulsory education program, the results and limitations, opportunities and challenges, thereby proposing a number of models, solutions to be implemented in the coming time. At the same time, it also introduces the compulsory education in some countries around the world and in the region.
Keywords: Compulsory education; legality; support policy of the compulsory education;
Introduction
The compulsory education is the education system in which all children and young people must participate in and must attend a course of study prescribed by the law. This is a legal requirement for all countries in the world, in order to ensure that all children and young people have access to the basic education and achieve a minimum level of education. In particular, the compulsory education is generally applied to the ages of 5 to 16, or 18 years old, depending on each country’s regulations. The duration of study in this course may also vary, depending on the regulations of each country and region.
The compulsory education is the education that every citizen of the prescribed age is required to study to achieve the minimum level of education regulated by the law and the State guarantees the conditions for the implementation.
The compulsory education is important in building a society with knowledge and development capacity. It helps provide the knowledge and skills needed for the children to be able to contribute to the society and develop themselves. In addition, the compulsory education helps reduce illiteracy rate and improve the community's quality of life.
1. Scientific basis of compulsory education
1.1. The importance of the compulsory education
The education has a special importance for the development of the individuals and society: The education is considered an important basis for developing the individual's critical thinking, abilities, knowledge and values. It also provides positive contributions to the development of the society.
The compulsory education plays a crucial role in building a society with knowledge and development capacity. As it is the foundation for training and equipping all members of the society with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking necessary to adapt to their living environment and develop themselves.
In a society with compulsory education, everyone has access to basic knowledge such as reading, writing, calculation, science, history, culture... from which, they are able to participate in the social activities more effectively, can communicate their knowledge and skills to others.
1.2. Education is the basis for the formation and development of the children
The studies in the child psychology have shown that the exposure to early education can help the children develop basic skills and a positive developmental mindset.
The compulsory education helps reduce the illiteracy rate and improve the quality of life of the community because it ensures that everyone has access to education and learning. In the past, the primary reason for illiteracy stemmed from the limited educational opportunities available to numerous children and the youth. However, since the compulsory education was established, every child and young person have been guaranteed access to basic education, thereby helping to reduce the illiteracy rate and improve the educational level of the community.
In addition, the compulsory education enhances the mental health and orientation of the children. They who are trained early will be able to adapt to life and have a more positive developmental mindset. They will also have many opportunities to develop skills and find careers in the future, helping to improve their quality of life and the community.
1.3. Effectiveness of the compulsory education
Many scientific studies have indicated that the compulsory education helps reduce the illiteracy rates and enhance the community well-being by ensuring that everyone has access to basic education and learning opportunities. This would boosts mental health, fosters skill development and job opportunities for the children and youth, minimizes disparities between social classes, and promotes mental health and provides guidance for them.
Furthermore, the compulsory education also helps develop thinking skills, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills, and teamwork skills, which are the important skills in developing a smart society and contributing to the sustainable development. Moreover, it enhances the quality of life of the entire society by training the people with high educational qualifications and the ability to actively contribute to the development of the society.
Therefore, these scientific bases play an important role in the establishment and development of the compulsory education to ensure that every child has access to education and learning, thereby facilitating the comprehensive development of the individuals and society.
2. Legal basis and policies to implement the compulsory education in Vietnam
2.1. Legal basis
The compulsory education in Vietnam was regulated by the Constitution and Law. The Party’s and State's policies stipulate as follows:
The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was approved by the National Assembly and promulgated on November 28, 2013. In the Article 61, it is stated:
(1). Developing the education is a top national policy to raise the people's knowledge, develop the human resources, and foster the talents.
(2) The Government shall prioritize the investment and attract other investment sources for education; taking care of the preschool education; ensuring that the primary education is compulsory, the State does not collect tuition fees; gradually universalizing high school education; developing higher education and vocational training; and implementing reasonable scholarship and tuition fee policies.
(3) The state prioritizes the development of education in the mountainous areas, islands, regions with ethnic minority communities, and the areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions; prioritizes the use and development of talents; creates the conditions for the people with disabilities and the poor to receive the cultural and vocational education.
Education Law No. 43/2019/QH14 dated June 14th, 2019. Article 14. Universal education and compulsory education:
(1). The primary education is compulsory. The State implements the universal preschool education for 5-years-old children and universal lower secondary education.
(2) The State is responsible for implementing the compulsory education throughout the country; deciding the plans, ensuring the conditions for the universalization of education.
(3) All citizens within the prescribed age group have the obligation to study in order to fulfill the goal of universal education and complete compulsory education.
(4) The families and guardians are responsible for creating the conditions for the family members within the specified age group to study to implement the universal education and complete the compulsory education.
The Law on Child Protection, Care and Education, No. 25/2004/QH11 dated June 15th, 2004. Article 16. The right to education stated:
(1). The children have the right to education.
(2) The children attending in the public primary school do not have to pay tuition fees.
From the above regulations, the compulsory education in Vietnam was institutionalized into the policies of the Vietnamese Communist Party and the State, guaranteed by the State in all possible conditions to implement the compulsory education program in the whole country.
2.2. Policies to implement the compulsory education in Vietnam
The implementation of the compulsory education is one of the basic social policies in the system of socio-economic policies of the State. The implementation policy of the compulsory education is a macro management tool of the State for the educational activities in order to achieve the State's aims in the field of compulsory education. The compulsory education policy is a system of education viewpoints of the State's objectives and solutions to achieve those objectives. The details are as follows:
Firstly, it involves expanding, reinforcing, and accelerating the construction of educational institutions, standardizing the schools at all levels, and providing the necessary conditions to enhance the overall quality of education in general, and the compulsory education in particular.
Secondly, ensuring sufficient number of preschool teachers, primary school teachers, and lower secondary teachers; improving the level of training, expertise, and reasonable arrangement for special regions and economically difficult places.
Thirdly, the Party and State's policy system will respond to and have a direct impact on the entire education system in the plains as well as in the ethnic minority and mountainous areas. There are many regimes and policies for educational administrators, teachers, and ethnic minority students.
Fourthly, the Party and the State always take care of the compulsory education for the ethnic minority and mountainous areas because the poverty rate is still high and the socio-economic conditions are still difficult.
3 Compulsory Education Outcomes in Vietnam
3.1. Achieved results:
The results of implementing the compulsory education in Vietnam in recent years have achieved significant progress and achievements, specifically:
(1). Achieving a high rate of educational participation: Since the application of the compulsory education policies, the rate of educational participation in Vietnam has increased significantly. Currently, most children of school age have been included in the education system. The target of achieving the universal preschool education standards nationwide for 5-years-old children was completed at the beginning of 2017, with a mobilization rate of 99.98% for 5-years-old children attending preschool. The preschool children in the extremely difficult socio-economic areas, ethnic minority and mountainous areas, especially difficult communes in coastal areas, islands; the children without a source of support, , children from poor and near-poor households are supported with lunch allowances by the State; children in the difficult circumstances and children with disabilities receive attention for early detection, early intervention, inclusive learning, and raising the rate of the children going to school. This success is largely thanks to the efforts of the education sector, the attention of the localities and the targeted investment policies for the preschool education from the Vietnamese Government. This is a solid premise for the implementation of the compulsory education for the future youth.
(2). Primary education: we also maintain and improve the quality of universal compulsory primary education and lower secondary education. The whole country has achieved the standard of the universal compulsory primary education at level 2, of which 18 out of 63 provinces and cities reaching level 3 (in 2016, there were only 12 out of 63 provinces); the whole country has achieved the standard of universal lower secondary education at level 1, of which 19 out of 63 provinces and cities reaching level 2 or level 3. The index of 6-years-old children entering grade 1 reached 99%, highly appreciated in the region (ranked 2nd in the ASEAN region, after Singapore). This is also a bright spot in our country's education innovation policies and highly appreciated by the countries and international organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, WB, UNDP.
3. Education quality: Vietnam has made great progress in improving the quality of education. The educational programs have been updated, the learning content has been diversified and suitable to the actual needs of the country and society. The quality of the teacher training is also enhanced to meet the requirements of a high-quality education system. Many indicators of Vietnam's education are highly appreciated in the region, such as: The percentage of the students attending and completing the compulsory primary education programme after 5 years reached 92.08%, ranking at the top of the ASEAN region. The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA PLM) in 2019 showed that Vietnam's primary education quality ranked among the top among the ASEAN countries. Among the six countries participating in the 2019 assessment, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines, Vietnamese primary school students ranked the first in all three surveyed competencies: Reading comprehension, Writing, and Mathematics. In the PISA assessments, Vietnam has also achieved outstanding results, causing great surprise to the world, with the survey results showing that Vietnam ranks high compared to the average of the OECD countries while our investment in education is lower.
4. Reducing the illiteracy rate: With the efforts to bring the education to the people, the proportion of the illiterate population in Vietnam has decreased significantly. From basic schooling, to vocational training programs, many Vietnamese people have had the opportunity to access the knowledge and skills needed to develop themselves and improve their lives.
5. Compulsory education has contributed to the socio-economic development of the localities. The application of the compulsory education policy has helped Vietnam develop its economy and society. A person who is well-trained and has the necessary skills will have a better chance of finding a job and increasing their income. This helps the country develop and contribute to the prosperity of the region and the world.
However, the implementation of the compulsory education still has many limitations and challenges such as heavy knowledge, students lacking soft skills, lack of highly qualified teachers, lack of quality textbooks, etc. This means that the compulsory education still has certain limitations.
3.2. Limitations in the compulsory education implementation
- Some mountainous and island areas still have difficulties in accessing the education, especially the primary education.
- The teaching staff still lacks uniformity and the quality does not meet the requirements, especially in the difficult areas.
- Teaching and learning methods are still not innovative, have not met the needs of the society, especially in the context of digital transformation and globalization.
- Some students still have difficulty in accessing and using the textbooks due to high prices.
Therefore, in order to promote the quality of the compulsory education in the primary schools, it is necessary to invest more in the facilities, strengthen training for the teachers, innovate the teaching and learning methods, and promote the cooperation between the schools and families to ensure that every child has the opportunity to access a high-quality education.
4. Compulsory education in Vietnam in the coming time: The opportunities and challenges
In the coming time, the primary education will face many opportunities and challenges as follows:
4.1. Opportunities:
(1).Vietnam has a large young population, which creates an opportunity to build a high-quality education system that brings long-term benefits to the country.
(2) The Vietnamese Government has introduced many supportive policies to enhance the quality of education, train the teachers, invest in the facilities, and create the conditions for the students to access education.
(3) With the development of science and technology, the primary education needs to adapt and apply information technologies to improve the quality of education and minimize the possibility of school dropout. The use of educational software, smart devices and other technologies will help the teachers and students access the knowledge more quickly and effectively.
(4). The diverse and flexible new general education programs (2018 general education program) will help the students develop the skills necessary for the future success, including creative skills, critical thinking, social skills, and life skills. Introducing the practical activities, practical experiences and new subjects into education will help increase the practicality and attractiveness of the compulsory education in the primary school.
(5) The primary education can also use the career-oriented methods to help the students learn about professions and motivate them to study.
(6) The demand for the primary education is increasing and necessary to develop the foundation for the future academic and career success. The investment in the primary education will give the children a strong foundation for their future learning and development.
4.2. Challenges:
(1). Some remote, mountainous and island areas still have difficulties in accessing education, especially the primary education.
(2) The quality of the teaching staff still lacks uniformity, there are many shortcomings, especially in the difficult areas.
(3) The textbooks quality still does not meet the requirements of the modern education, especially in the context of digital transformation and globalization.
(4) The changes in teaching and learning methods need to be applied to meet the needs of the society, while maintaining the cultural identity and national traditions.
(5) The situation of studying heavy knowledge still exists and needs to be addressed to avoid the negative impacts on the students' health. In addition, it is necessary to increase the investment in the primary education to improve the quality of education and develop the facilities of the schools. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen training and attract highly qualified and passionate teachers to improve the quality of education.
(6) Balancing the required subjects and skills is also a challenge. In addition, the primary education needs to strengthen gender education, value education, and multicultural education to develop a smart and diverse young generation.
(7) The career orientation needs to be appropriate to the country's economic and social development trends; it is necessary to ensure the feasibility and effectiveness of the career orientation to avoid the students choosing a career that is not suitable for their abilities and interests.
(8) Improving the quality of education and reducing the situation of heavy theory and light practice require a large and costly investment. Ensuring the uniform quality of education across the country is also a challenge for the primary education. However, promoting the educational innovation, improving the quality of the teacher training, and improving the facilities of the schools will help address these challenges.
In order to ensure the success in the implementation of the compulsory education, it is necessary to focus on improving the quality of education, training and attracting quality teachers, investing in the facilities, improving the teaching and learning methods and renovating the textbooks. At the same time, it is necessary to introduce supportive policies to help the children in the remote, mountainous and island areas access high-quality education. Additionally, it is necessary to create the synchronization and connections between all educational levels, from preschool to high school, to ensure smooth and effective transitions in the students' learning process. It is also necessary to talk about building a high-quality educational environment, providing equal learning opportunities for all students, especially those in the difficult circumstances. It is necessary to promote the cooperation among the educational institutions, communities, businesses and international organizations to jointly contribute to the development of education in Vietnam.
In summary, the compulsory education is an important factor in building a society having knowledge and development capacity. Ensuring the conditions for the implementation of the compulsory education in Vietnam requires the focus and efforts of the whole political system, functional units, localities, and communities. Only with the consensus and cooperation of all can we build a high-quality compulsory education system and bring long-term benefits to the country.
5. Proposing the models and solutions and policies to implement the compulsory education in Vietnam
In order to implement the compulsory education in Viet Nam, it is necessary to have a reasonable and effective model, policies and solutions. Some suggestions are as follows:
5.1. Educational model
(1). Diverse educational model: It is necessary to develop the diverse schools, including public schools, private schools and schools with international elements to meet the needs of the students.
(2). Financial support policy: It is necessary to provide financial support for the students in the difficult circumstances, especially in the rural, mountainous and island areas to ensure that they have the opportunity to access the high-quality education.
3. High-quality teachers: High-quality teacher training and recruitment should be strengthened, especially in the difficult areas. At the same time, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for the teachers to maximize their capacity.
4. Evaluation, monitoring and innovation system: It is necessary to develop an evaluation, monitoring and innovation system to ensure the quality of the compulsory education. The application of information technology to the management and monitoring is also an effective solution.
5. Cooperation between the functional units: It is necessary to strengthen the cooperation between the functional units in promoting the compulsory education, including the Ministry of Education and Training, localities, communities and enterprises.
6. Implementing the education innovation: It is necessary to implement the education innovation to match the development trends of the world and meet the needs of the society. Strengthening the vocational and soft skills education is also an important solution to ensure the students ready for the future.
5.2. Implementation solutions
The specific solutions to implement the compulsory education in Viet Nam may include:
(1). Improving the quality of education: This solution can include improving the curriculum, improving the professional qualifications of the teachers, increasing the investment in the educational facilities and resources.
(2). Financial support: The Government can provide financial support to the difficult households, helping their children have better educational conditions.
3. Strengthening monitoring and assessment: It is necessary to strengthen the periodic inspections to ensure the schools comply with the regulations on the compulsory education and educational quality.
4. Building a diverse learning environment: Supporting the schools in developing extracurricular educational activities, diversifying the teaching methods, and creating a diverse and rich learning environment for the students.
5. Strengthening the cooperation with the relevant partners: The Government can cooperate with the social organizations and private companies to increase the investment and support for the compulsory education.
6. Innovating training and assessment methods: It is necessary to innovate the way of training and assessment to ensure that the students have the best learning and development, including the application of information and communication technology in education.
Conclusion
The Party and the State have had many policies to develop education in general and to universalize the compulsory education in particular. Thanks to the guidelines and policies of the Party and State, the compulsory education has achieved many important achievements. However, the compulsory education for the preschool and primary education in some regions is still inadequate, and the quality of education is still limited. The quality of compulsory education in the ethnic minority and mountainous areas is generally low compared to the requirements. Therefore, the synchronous implementation of the above policies and solutions for the compulsory universal education achieves the desired results.
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REFERENCES
1. The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam were approved and promulgated by the National Assembly on November 28, 2013.
2. National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Education Law No. 43/2019/QH14, June 14, 2019.
3. National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , Law on Child Protection, Care and Education, No. 25/2004/QH11 dated June 15, 2004
4. Ministry of Education and Training (July 2017), General Education Program - General Program
5. Vietnam Education in the period 1945 - 2010, Vietnam Education Publishing House./.
Bui Cong Dat Translated
