A little Vietnamese girl's cheerful face on the first day of a new school year. (Photo: VNA)
London (VNA) - Vietnam understands the value ofeducation and manages its teachers well, British weekly newspaper The Economist wrote in a recentarticle.
The article noted that Vietnamese children go through one ofthe best schooling systems in the world, a status reflected in outstandingperformances in international assessments of reading, maths and science.
It cited the latest data from the World Bank which showsthat, on aggregate learning scores, Vietnamese students outperform not onlytheir counterparts in Malaysia and Thailand but also those in the UK andCanada, countries more than six times richer. Even in Vietnam itself, studentscores do not exhibit the scale of inequality so common elsewhere between thegenders and different regions.
The author assessed that the distinctive secret of Vietnam’sstellar performance lies in the classroom: its children learn more at school,especially in the early years.
The article cited a 2020 study by Abhijeet Singh of theStockholm School of Economics, which gauged the greater productivity ofVietnam’s schools by examining data from identical tests taken by students inEthiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. Accordingly, between the ages of five andeight Vietnamese children race ahead. One more year of education in Vietnamincreases the probability that a child can solve a simple multiplicationproblem by 21 percentage points; in India the uplift is six points.
Vietnamese schools, unlike those in other poor countries,have improved over time, said the paper. The biggest reason is the calibre of localteachers, it noted, adding that they are not necessarily better qualified but simplymore effective at teaching.
“Vietnam’s teachers do their job well because they arewell-managed. They receive frequent training and are given the freedom to makeclasses more engaging. To tackle regional inequality, those posted to remoteareas are paid more. Most important, teacher assessment is based on theperformance of their students.”
In addition, it wrote that provinces are required to spend 20% of their budgets oneducation, which has helped regional equity. That the Communist Party of Vietnam pays such close andrelentless attention also ensures that policies are adjusted to updatecurriculums and teaching standards.
“All this has reaped rich rewards. As schools have improved,so has Vietnam’s economy,” concluded the article./.
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Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Ly Duc Trung emphasised ASEAN’s central role in regional mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS), highlighting its significant contribution to promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in Southeast Asia.
The consumer index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), fell to 51.7 in July from 52.7 in the previous month. The sluggish economy and the trade war, as well as high living costs, continue to undermine confidence, the university said.
Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Istvan Jakab expressed his hope for further deepening Hungary’s ties with ASEAN countries and called for their support for Hungary’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
The 30-storey tower crumbled seconds after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Myanmar on March 28. The partially built high-rise, meant to house the State Audit Office (SAO), was the only building in Thailand to collapse, killing 89 people on the site, mostly construction workers.
Indonesia’s waste generation is projected to exceed 50 million tonnes in 2025. Of the total, more than 20 million tonnes could potentially enter the ocean through rivers, coastal areas, small islands, ports, and marine activities, and thereby, pose a risk to coastal ecosystems and marine biota.
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A little Vietnamese girl's cheerful face on the first day of a new school year. (Photo: VNA) 
