Le Quan Tan, Head of the Secondary Education Department, discussed putting information about Hoang Sa and Truong Sa into school curriculums.

Le Quan Tan, Head of the Secondary Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)

How have the syllabuses about local history and geography teaching been designed?

In 2008, MOET released a document clearly stipulating the syllabuses on teaching local issues applied for secondary and high schools as of the 2008-2009 school year.

We asked localities to put the contents into the curriculums and respect the truth in teaching students.

Regarding knowledge of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, we have the responsibility of teaching students consciousness of national sovereignty, territory and territorial waters.

Not only Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, but awareness of Bach Long Vi in Hai Phong city and Co To in Quang Ninh province, also both islands of Vietnam, have also been taught in local schools in lessons about local history and geography.

We are planning to renovate the curriculums and textbooks for general education. Do you think that we need to teach students nationwide about Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, not only students in Da Nang or Khanh Hoa?

All history and geography textbooks affirm Vietnam’s sovereignty of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa. In the geography curriculums for secondary and high schools, there is information about borders and national sovereignty. However, geography and history are two fields which always need to be updated with new information.

How has the compilation and assessment of the textbooks been going?

It is really hard work. A lot of questions have arisen: Who can compile the lessons in the most honest, shortest and easiest way to understand? Who can collect materials and assess the materials? We need a professional council in charge of undertaking the works.

It is necessary to gather the most outstanding experts, scientists, culturists, artists and artisans who have deep knowledge of localities to compile and check the syllabuses on local issues in teaching.

VietNamNet/TP