Students from 130 high schools in the city attended the meeting organised by the municipal Department of Education and Training to discuss improvements to training quality and school programmes.

Their main concern was the brain drain. Pham Thi Yen Nhi, an 11th grader at the elite Le Hong Phong High School, said many students had gone abroad to study in recent years but did not come back to work in Viet Nam.

Not many students had the desire to help build their homeland, she said, adding the Government should work out policies to attract them home.

Another concern the students raised was their school programme’s focus on theory rather than practice.

Nguyen Bich Quynh, an 11th grader at another elite institution, Tran Dai Nghia High School, asked the officials why despite completing such long and arduous courses, many people failed to get good jobs after graduation. Even if they did, employers have to retrain them, she said.

Tran Tien Thinh of Le Thanh Ton High School in District 7 expressed the same opinion, saying education must be more practically-oriented.

Others expressed worries about the bad behaviour and use of obscene language by high school students, saying courses to teach them good behaviour were required from an early age.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich of Long Truong High School in District 9 said there should be more sex education at the high-school level.

The changes the city and country are going through, students’ aspirations and the role of young people in the city’s industrialisation and modernisation were also discussed.

Huynh Cong Minh, director of the Department of Education and Training, said the conference provided a good opportunity to listen to students and promised more regular interaction in future.

VietNamNet/VNS