LookAtVietnam – The country’s education sector is aiming to simplify examinations, fight corruption and avoid “achievement disease”,

However, Nghia said parents and students would still largely in the dark about planned education reforms.

In addition, he said the education sector was facing difficulties due to staff shortages and inexperience, as well as with financing.

Nghia stressed that the first priority was to upgrade the Department of Educational Testing and Quality Assessment and improve staff training.

It was essential to standardise exam regulations and ensure transparency and fairness, the conference heard.

Teaching standards should be regularly assessed, Nghia said.

“The ministry will issue legal documents and guidance on assessing and verifying the quality of universal education, which will focus on non-public schools and schools receiving foreign support and investment,” he said.

“We will also co-ordinate with the Ministry of Finance and issue an inter-ministerial circular on expenses for the work,” Nghia added.

Pham Vu Luan, deputy education minister, said educational standards had improved markedly in recent years.

“The achievements on education-quality verification and assessment gained in recent years has greatly contributed to the sector’s reform and development,” he said.

“Opinions of parents and students are very important to the work as education-quality verification and assessment is still new to Viet Nam,” he added.

The deputy minister said that the work required not only consent within the sector but also the whole of society.

The Department for Educational Testing and Quality Assessment said it was formulating draft criteria for the evaluation of educational quality for the 2009-10 school year.

The education ministry said it would give full autonomy to educational establishments when it comes to boosting education-quality verification and assessment.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News