The agreements were reached during talks held in Hanoi Tuesday between New Zealand Deputy Minister of Education Karen Sewell and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan.

The two sides agreed that the Pacific country’s education ministry will share with its Vietnamese counterpart its national education standards on students’ knowledge and skills, which serve as an important instrument for educators to develop textbooks and other teaching materials.

They also agreed to hold regular meetings between education ministry officials and establish a joint working group to share information and facilitate the implementation of signed agreements; and gradually broaden cooperation between training establishments of both countries.

A student exchange program between Vietnamese and New Zealand universities could be established in the future, they said.

The two leaders were pleased with recent developments in the two countries’ training and education cooperation, notably New Zealand’s agreement to raise the number of postgraduate scholarships offered to 17 from 2009 onwards, with seven of these going to English language teachers.

Around 2,000 Vietnamese students are studying in New Zealand, mostly with their own funds, thanks to the halving of school fees for Vietnamese postgraduates under an education and training agreement signed by the two countries last February.

Source: VNA