Leaders from 63 education and training departments and a number of international organisations gathered in Hanoi to review the five-year implementation of national education action plan.

The participants analysed reasons of success and challenges of the plan and discussed necessary solutions that will provide educational opportunities for all people by 2015.

Vietnam has so far completed important educational targets including the development of a school network and the considerable increase of children attending school. Additionally, the educational management has also improved.

However, the implementation of the pre-school education programme remains a challenge as it requires a comprehensive modification in content and methods. A majority of rural and disadvantaged areas lack teachers and facilities to implement the programme.

In some regions there remains a large gap of children attending school due to the lack of facilities. The Red river provinces have only 27 percent of its total number of children in the kindergarten age group and 79 percent in the nursery age group going to school.

Participants proposed increasing the State budget for the action plan and national endorsement of nursery education for all five-year old children. They also called for futher financial assistance to improve basic education for ethnic students and others in disadvantaged areas.

VietNamNet/VNA