The roles of Training and Education The technological and scientific revolution is vigorously progressing in the world.

Science has become a direct productive resource, and technology has been inovated rapidly. Peoples intellect, scienctific and technological potentialities have become factors determining for the status and strength of each nation in the world. Education standard is always considered one of the most important criteria to evaluate the development level of a society. Education plays the most essential role in raising peoples intellect, training labor and fostering/cultivating talents for the country. For poor countries like Vietnam, the only way to get the country out of poverty and backwardness is to invest in/ , there is no choice but investing in human resource in general, (in) education and training in particular In other word, human resources development is a key for Vietnam to escape (from) poverty and backwardness. Changes and achivements Since the nations reunification, The Party and The Government of Vietnam have made enormous efforts to re-form the nationwide education system. In the school year 1980-1981 that Vietnam first introduced the 12-year curriculum was, and a whole of curiculum, and in 1992 the whole new curriculum text books were completed. The current national education system of Vietnam comprises preschool education consisting of creche and kingdergarten; school education with primary education (grades 1-5) and secondary education (grades 6 -12), including junior and senior secondary education; vocational education with technical and vocational school; and tertiary education.

The illiteracy eradication campaign obtained some heartening achivements. Vietnam is one of the countries with the lowest illiteracy rate in the world. The training forms have been diversified into full-time, part-time and distance training in order to meet the increasing demands of students as well as the entire society. Furthermore, more and more Vietnamese students are sent abroad for study and further study. The (content of) curriculum and teaching methods have been improved to generate students with enough qualification to meet the demand of the market economy. Long-term and short-term vocational schools have been opened for all school leavers preparing to enter the labor market. Though State Education Budget is limited somehow, it has steadily increased in the past year so as to create significant material advantages contributing for the development of education and trainning. Consolidation and expension of education network in remote and moutainous areas have gained initial positive achievements. Remaining problems in the education of Vietnam Teaching equipment is out-of-date. Currently, the pre-1960s equipment accounts for 37% of the total existing equipment in universities and colleges. Degradtion is even worse in schools. Adding a trapple-shift, building makeshift classes,... are common in localities. The qualifications of the teaching stuff at all levels are still low and fail to meet the high demands of the contemporary economic development. Teachers are badly-paid, leading to many teachers give up their jobs or take up spreading after-school private classes for commercial purpose, increasingly undermining the prestige of the schools in general and teachers in particular in the eyes of the public .

The polarization of education standard is also worrying in Vietnam. Although the policy of education socialization has created more education opportunities for the people, it sets up risks sharpening class distinctions. Genuine cerificate, fake knowledge is currently an aching problem in Vietnam. The average education spending per capita in Vietnam is still very low compared with that in the region and in the world. In the coming time, Vietnams education will not be ready to take off the ground if the average education spending per capita does not increase. The State Education Budget does not meet the demands and make up for incurred costs owing to increasing number of students (over one million per year on average), soaring prices, etc. Meanwhile, many specialists in education say that the current distribution of the State education budget on a population basis is inapropriate greatly affecting the quality of education. What should be done to overcome the situation? According to a senior official of the Ministry of Education and Training, it is necessary to increase financial resources for education and training particularly to 20% by 2005.

The Party and Goverment of Vietnam should exert every possible effort and give top priority to education and training development, which should be considered the leading national policy of the government and the cause of all the entire people. To 2005, it is important to eliminate polarization illiteracy nationwide and universalize primary education at the right age in most localities, and eventually universalize lower secondary education by 2010.

Finally, it is important to carry out/ implement/ introduce intensive and extensive socialization in education deeply in various ways. In term of/ as a regard of education budget management mechanicsm, it is necessary to improve/ enhance the effectiveness of limited investment capital.