MC Phuong Thao and guests

Greetings to all of you tuning into the online talkshow on Thai Nguyen Province Web Portal. At this time, while students at all educational levels are enjoying their summer break, the Education and Training sector is actively preparing for the upcoming school year, with a special focus on continuing the implementation of General Education Program (GEP) 2018.

Ladies and gentlemen! The 2023 - 2024 school year is the 4th year that all 3 educational levels have implemented General Education Program 2018, after 3 years of implementation, according to the assessment of schools and the Education sector, the Program has brought some initial positive results, but there are still many shortcomings and difficulties. Around the preparation of the education and training sector for the new school year, especially the implementation of GEP 2018, we organized an online talkshow with the topic " General education program 2018 - Education quality should be the top priority".

We are pleased to introduce our distinguished guests for today's online talkshow. Please allow me to introduce Mr. Dao Xuan Tan, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, and Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan, Principal of 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City.

First of all, to better understand the remarkable new point of GEP 2018 compared to GEP 2006, we invite you to watch a short video clip right now.

MC Phuong Thao: The first question is for the leadership of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Department of Education and Training. Mr. Dao Xuan Tan, to effectively implement GEP2018 in the province, what specific solutions has the Education sector employed in the early years of implementation?

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan: In order to proactively implement GEP 2018 in the province, the Education sector has well implemented specific solutions as follows:

The Department of Education and Training recommended the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the Provincial People's Council for promulgating programs, schemes, regimes and policies, especially the Education and Training Development Program for 2021 - 2025 period; the Scheme on strengthening the assurance of facilities for public preschools and high schools for 2021 - 2025 period; The Scheme on training to improve the capacity of teachers and managers of educational institutions for 2021 - 2025 period, with an orientation to 2030...

The Department of Education and Training recommended the Provincial People's Committee to promulgate the implementation plan of GEP 2018; establish a Steering Committee and Support Group for the implementation of GEP 2018; promulgate criteria for selection of textbooks in GEP institutions in Thai Nguyen province; plans for compiling local educational materials in GEP 2018; decided to establish a Board for compiling local educational materials in Thai Nguyen province under GEP 2018.

In addition, the Department of Education and Training also issued documents guiding units to prepare conditions for the implementation of GEP 2018; organized conferences and refresher classes to guide the implementation of programs and schemes on material facilities and teachers; the selection of textbooks; the compilation, appraisal, approval, printing and distribution of local educational materials; organized teacher training according to modules of the Ministry of Education and Training, training in teaching method innovation, testing and assessment according to GEP 2018.

In general, the Education sector has been proactively, flexibly, promptly... prepared conditions for the implementation of GEP 2018.

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan, Deputy Director of Department of Education and Training

MC Phuong Thao: Well, first of all, we will analyze the positive effects. Mr. Dao Xuan Tan, after 3 years of implementing GEP 2018 at all 3 educational levels, what do you think about the effectiveness from the implementation of the Program?

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan:  After 3 years of implementing GEP 2018 at all 3 education levels, according to the sector's assessment, there have been positive impacts in improving the quality of teaching and learning, specifically: First of all, to meet the implementation of GEP 2018, the whole sector must prepare facilities,  teaching equipment, staff and other conditions, especially the provincial policy system for the Program, so the conditions related to facilities and staff have been strengthened. In addition, in order to meet the requirements of teaching and learning under GEP 2018, it is also required to change the way of teaching and learning, previously teaching and learning was mainly equipped with knowledge, under this Program, it will shift to the comprehensive development of competencies and qualities of students. As a result, testing and assessment must also focus on developing competencies and qualities of students. At the same time, the quality of education and the standard school rate have also been improved through the implementation of GEP 2018.

MC Phuong Thao: To better understand the practical implementation of GEP 2018 at the school, we have invited to the studio Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan, Principal of 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City. Yes, madam, as a teacher and a manager of an inter-level school, from your school, what are the positive impacts of the implementation of GEP 2018 at 2 educational levels (primary and secondary)?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan, Principal of 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan: 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School has 2 education levels, this year is the 4^th year of implementing GEP 2018, after 3 years of implementing the Program, as an educational manager, I realize that GEP 2018 has many positive impacts,  such as: The program is oriented to develop competencies and qualities for students and these competencies and qualities have been concretized by the requirements to be met in each subject and each educational level. Comprehensive, synchronous innovation from textbook programs, teaching methods and assessment tests, through which students master general knowledge, know how to effectively apply knowledge and skills in practical life; teaching methods focus on organizing learning activities in order to form and develop self-learning capacity of students; Teachers change their teaching objectives from "Imparting knowledge" to teaching based on "developing competencies". GEP 2018 grants localities and schools more autonomy and responsibility in designing educational plans, teaching plans and program implementation.

Teachers are shifting from the position of "teachers" to the position of those who "organize, test and orient" learning activities (Photo: Teachers and students of 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City in 1 period)

MC Phuong Thao: In fact, besides the positive aspects, GEP 2018 also faces many difficulties that need to be addressed. Can you elaborate on these difficult factors, Mr. Dao Xuan Tan?

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan: In addition to the positive aspects of GEP 2018 (basically), in reality, when implementing GEP 2018, there are also some difficulties that need to be addressed, namely: The requirements of the Program for facilities are very high, so at some educational institutions in the province, facilities and classrooms fail to meet the stipulated standards; minimum teaching equipment under GEP 2018 has not been equipped in time due to difficulties in price appraisal and bidding; some schools lack teachers in subjects such as English, Informatics (at primary level); Fine Arts, Music (at high school level). In addition, the compilation, appraisal and approval of local educational materials in some grades are still behind schedule prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training; the printing and issuance of documents have not been implemented because there are no specific provisions of law; the organization of teaching integrated subjects (Natural Sciences) at the secondary level still faces many difficulties because there are not enough teachers trained in accordance with the Education Law...; the structure of high school teachers is unstable due to choice of subject combinations of students; Organizing competitions for good students also faces many difficulties with integrated subjects; Transferring schools of students is also difficult because in some schools there are different subjects.

Career orientation activities have been promoted in the implementation of GEP 2018 (Photo: Teachers and students of Gang Thep High School, Thai Nguyen City participated in the Digital Technology-oriented STEM Experience Day)

MC Phuong Thao: What about your school, Ms. Hoan, what are the difficulties in implementing GEP 2018 in practice, madam?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan: In the first 2 years of implementing the program, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, so teachers and students of the school faced many difficulties . However, we managed to overcome these difficulties by combining offline and online teaching and learning. In particular,  for grade 1 students, the teaching process required substantial support from parents, necessitating seamless interaction between parents and the school to effectively implement the program. Some parents still do not fully understand the GEP 2018, making it challenging to work alongside teachers and create the necessary conditions for their children to study in line with the program's focus on developing competencies and qualities of students. Besides, we we faced challenges and confusion when selecting textbooks due to the numerous available options. Teachers instructing integrated natural sciences, despite holding interdisciplinary certificates, have not received in-depth training, and in the initial years of program implementation, they lacked extensive experience. These are natural challenges that arise during educational reform. The school has made adjustments and improvements to ensure effective teaching and learning processes.

MC Phuong Thao: One of the issues that receives a lot of attention from the public, especially parents with children in school, is related to the teaching staff. The situation of "hiring teachers on a contract basis" has been ongoing for several school years. Although policies for hiring contract teachers have been implemented, they have not fully ensured the stability of the teaching staff at schools. Could you please share more about this issue when the new school year approaches, Mr. Dao Xuan Tan?

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan: Due to the annual increase in the school and class size and the implementation of the streamlined organizational structure policy as directed by the Central Government, there is still a shortage of teachers in practice. To address the teacher shortage (currently around 4,000 positions), the Department of Education and Training (DOET), as well as district and city-level authorities, have instructed educational institutions to recruit teachers, and they have recruited over 1,000 teachers for the past three years. From 2017-2018 school year to 2022-2023 school year, the DOET collaborated with departments, committees and sectors to advise the Provincial People's Council on resolutions to support funding for public kindergartens and primary schools under the management of Thai Nguyen Province's budget. For the past years, Thai Nguyen province has allocated over VND 1,700 billion to allocated over 1,700 billion VND to support teaching costs in public educational institutions and food preparation in kindergartens. In addition to recruiting additional teachers and contracting teachers for activities related to teaching, the DOET, in collaboration with district and city-level People's Committees, directed the Education and Training Divisions and educational institutions to implement various measures to allocate teaching staff for the GEP 2018 program,  specifically: organizing the rearrangement of educational institutions and school points in the 2022-2025 period; reviewing the maximum number of students per class in accordance with the regulations of each level of education to reduce the number of classes, thereby reducing the number of teachers according to the standards; effectively implementing the financial support mechanism for public educational institutions to hire contract teachers in conditions of insufficient permanent positions according to the standards; reviewing, reassigning, and specializing teachers; arranging teachers to teach across schools for certain subjects (Music, Fine Arts, Information Technology, English); providing training and professional development for teachers to teach subjects with a shortage of teachers under GEP 2018 GEP.

Local education content is one of the notable new features of GEP 2018 (Photo: Thai Nguyen Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities was offering incense and reporting their work to Unle Ho at ATK Dinh Hoa Historical Site)

MC Phuong Thao: Teaching staff is considered the backbone of education quality. In response to the requirements of educational reform, from the School itself, what has the School done to improve the quality of teaching staff, Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan: The teaching staff is a prerequisite factor contributing to the success of the school. In response to the innovation requirements of education, the school always proactively encourages and supports its teachers to continuously self-improve, update their knowledge, and participate in professional development courses to enhance their expertise. This is especially important in the context of transitioning to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. One advantage of our school is that all of our teachers meet or exceed the required standards. In this school year, our school has received continuous support from the Department of Education and Training, the Education and Training Division of Thai Nguyen City, and our teachers have participated in core competency training sessions covering various subject areas. The School has coordinated with officials and experts of the Department of Education and Training, the Education and Training Division, of other schools and lecturers of universities to proactively organize talkshows on professional exchange and teaching methods; organize classes to raise awareness, improve teaching methods and management of students in school...

MC Phuong Thao: The general perspective of GEP 2018 is to develop competencies and qualities with comprehensive and synchronous innovation from curricula, textbooks, teaching methods and assessment tests. So the question is how can we ensure educational quality is equitable across different regions and areas within the province, Mr. Dao Xuan Tan?

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan: In fact, the socio-economic development in the regions and areas of the province is uneven, the Southern districts/cities have more developed infrastructure and socio-economic conditions than the Northern districts of the province; Annual educational outcomes also differ markedly. To narrow the quality gap and ensure equity in education, the sector advised the People's Council and the People's Committee of the Province to promulgate specific policies for ethnic minority and mountainous areas, such as: Regarding tuition fees, there are currently 3 levels, of which the level for ethnic minority and mountainous areas is the lowest; regarding investment in teaching facilities and equipment in the period of 2015 - 2022, this area was invested, renovated and had equipment procured with the value of over VND 260 billion, notably the program to delete 33 temporary classrooms in Dong Hi and Vo Nhai districts. In addition, the system of boarding schools was raised with 6 schools, including 1 high school and 5 secondary schools; At the same time, priority is also given to training teachers in terms of quantity and specific subjects. In addition, the Department of Education and Training also directed the Education and Training Divisions and local educational institutions with more favorable conditions to provide professional assistance, teaching equipment, textbooks and school supplies to educational institutions in more disadvantaged areas,  including ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

GEP 2018 encourages students to choose and orient their careers from the early (Photo: Students of Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted confidently exchange at the 5^th National Startup Day for students 2023)

MC Phuong Thao: One of the new features of GEP 2018 compared to GEP 2006 is the requirements for student parents. GEP 2018 requires students to learn more on their own; sets out more tasks that require applying knowledge to life, especially daily life at home and in community. Therefore, parents are expected to facilitate and support students in learning and applying knowledge beyond the school environment. From this talkshow, what are your desires and messages to parents, Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan: The  objective of GEP 2018 is to help students master general knowledge, effectively apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in their daily life, engage in life-long learning and develop their competencies and qualities. When implementing GEP 2018, it is indispensable for the role and companionship of parents, especially primary school students. For example, in the past, students were assigned homework to read texts to enhance their reading skills, but in the new GEP, to develop reading skills of students, teachers can assign students to read 1 favorite story book in their bookcase for parents to listen to. Parents can then discuss with their children the meaning of the story and the significance of the book they have just read. It needs the support, attention and facilitation of parents so that children can develop their competencies and sharpen skills when they are at home. Besides, parents need to understand which textbooks their children are using? What are the requirements? How far they have progressed in their lessons...? Thereby parents accompany and support their children in the right way. Parents should dedicate more time to their children during the implementation of the GEP 2018, creating the best learning environment for their children. On the other hand, when facing any difficulties that require support, parents should contact teachers immediately for discussion and consensus on a method to teach their children together. This will help children understand better and prevent parents from forcing their children to learn according to their own methods. Our message is that "The harmonious combination of school, teacher and family creates the success of GEP 2018".

One of the major objectives of GEP 2018 is to comprehensively develop students in moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic aspects (Photo: Students of Tan Thanh Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City participated in the specialized topic "One beautiful story every week, a good book, a shining example")

MC Phuong Thao: We know that 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School is applying the LIM Education Program into extracurricular activities. So how practical is the implementation of LIM in education, especially complementing the effective implementation of GEP 2018, Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Hoan: With the attention and facilitation of the Department of Education and Training, Education and Training Division of Thai Nguyen City and moreover, 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School has the characteristics that students have a relatively long study period (9 years) at the school, so there is time for us to choose the LIM (Leader in me) program. The program not only teaches them skills but also forges good habits of a person. We have decided to teach this program to our students in extracurricular hours to nurture positive habits. The students have effectively absorbed and applied the principles and habits, and there is also involvement from parents during the learning process. At this time, even grade 1 students can autonomously organize a parent-teacher meeting without needing the teacher's intervention. The students are very proactive in their tasks. We find the LIM program to be highly suitable for our students at at 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School.

Students showcase creativity and initiative during the "Book and Reading Culture Day" event organized at 915 Gia Sang Primary and Secondary School

MC Phuong Thao: At this time, we know that the Education and Training sector is actively preparing for 2023 - 2024 new school year, especially the continuation of the implementation of GEP 2018. Can you provide more information, Mr. Dao Xuan Tan?  

Mr. Dao Xuan Tan:  To prepare for the new school year, the Education and Training sector has proactively and actively implemented a number of the followign works: First of all, the enrollment of the first grade classes so far has been completed. We have directed educational institutions to review their infrastructure, teaching equipment, teaching staff, textbooks, and other necessary conditions to be ready for the new school year. The education sector has also guided educational institutions to select textbooks for Grade 4, Grade 8, and Grade 11. The compilation and evaluation of local educational materials for Grade 4, Grade 8, and Grade 11 have been mostly completed, ensuring that students will have textbooks for their studies in the new academic year. Additionally, the education sector has coordinated with the provincial People's Committee to issue a framework plan for the academic year, which has already been decided. Furthermore, we have organized conferences at different educational levels, with the preschool and primary school conferences already held, and the secondary and high school conferences scheduled for August 22. We have also developed plans for organizing the Opening Ceremony of the new school year. As of now, the entire education sector is ready for the new academic year with new determination, enthusiasm and hopes for new achievements.

MC Phuong Thao: GEP 2018 program is built on the basis of the Party and State's view on fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training, inheriting and promoting the advantages of previous GEP. After 3 years of implementation, it has shown initial positive impacts and it is hoped that the careful preparation of the Education and Training sector and each school with the solutions shared by 2 guests in this forum will be the basis for us to start the new school year with many new achievements. Once again, we would like to express our gratitude for the participation of 2 guests, thanks for your attention. Goodbye and see you soon.