Measures to attract investment for industrial development, reorganisation of education and training, improving the healthcare system and environmental protection topped the agenda of delegates on Thursday at the 10th National Party Congress.

On education, Nguyen Minh Hien, delegate of the Party Committee of the Central Scientific and Education Sector, said, “Besides achievements, the national education system still has many shortcomings and weaknesses like low quality and efficiency of education, especially in tertiary and vocational education." 

These shortcomings and weaknesses were, first of all, attributable to conventional thinking on education and management, which have not kept pace with practical requirements; shortage of professional teachers and educational administrators; slow universalisation of education and lack of co-ordinated solutions, he said.

“Objectively, we are facing big challenges of developing the scale of education on the one hand and raising its quality on the other hand based on limited resources,” Mr Hien said.

As for the objectives of education, Minister Hien stressed on the need for comprehensively renewing education and training; reorganising the unsystematic style of work, and eliminating compartmentalisation and fragmentation in education; creating a comprehensive vision for education in tune with national socio-economic development orientations, globalization and development of a knowledge-based economy; and further promoting the entire people’s strength so that “the national education system, in the near future, will become more universal and have quality, with higher position in the region and the world.”

To achieve these objectives, he proposed three major solutions: building and improving the contingent of teachers and education managers; renewing and raising the effectiveness and efficiency of education management; accelerating the universalisation of education; and mobilising sources for developing education, and building an educated society.

Presenting a report on environment, Pham Khoi Nguyen from the Party organisation of the central economic agencies, said, “Environmental protection still fails to cope with increasing pollution and adverse impacts exerted by development on environment. Many achievements gained after 20 years of renovation are a result of the exploitation of natural resources. Many natural resources have been over exploited, and used wastefully and inefficiently. Natural environment in many localities has been destroyed, polluted and degraded seriously.”

According to Nguyen, the question of how to harmonise immediate interests with long-term interests, socio-economic development with environmental protection, interests of current generations with those of future generations were the “biggest and most fundamental challenges” faced by Vietnam.

Regarding solutions for protecting and improving environment for sustainable development, Nguyen emphasised three issues: first, to perfect the system of laws on environment in tune with the requirements of the market economy and needs of international integration and to make national laws based on international treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party; second, to well implement the environmental law; third, to bring into full play the comprehensive strength in environmental protection, including strengthening co-operation with other countries and international organisations.

Also on Thursday, the Congress listened to a report of the Party delegation to the Health Ministry, presented by Tran Thi Chung Chien titled “Renewing and perfecting the healthcare system along the direction of equity, efficiency and development, creating conditions for all people to enjoy health protection, care and improvement.”

Pointing to shortcomings and weaknesses of the current healthcare system, the report suggested a number of solutions for strengthening the system.

First, consolidate and perfect healthcare networks, including the grassroots network; create conditions for people to have easier access to medical care; and renew the operation mechanisms in hospitals and the policy on treating medical officials and workers.

Second, increase public expenditure on health, and gradually limit direct payment of hospital fees by patients. In this regard, Ms Chien stressed, “We should increase State budget investment in health for upgrading medical establishments so that by 2010 it will account for at least 10% of the total State budget expenditure.”

Comparing this figure with the current figure of 7%, she said, “The public expenditure on health is currently US $6 per person, which is half the amount (US $12) suggested by the World Health Organization for a developing nation." 

Third, to provide reasonable health care support for policy beneficiaries, poor people and those living in remote and ethnic minority areas.

Dao Ngoc Dung, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCM CYU), joined the discussions with a report on promoting revolutionary education for young people.

"In the current context, promoting youth education, especially the education of young people on revolutionary ideals, is a necessary and pressing requirement and task," he said.

Mr Dung's report proposed a number of solutions to fulfil this task. First, to constantly educate the young generation on the Party and nation's revolutionary ethics and ideals to improve their political consciousness; and foster their love for the nation and socialism, focusing on cultivating their personality, and "educating them on how to be good people" in accordance with Ho Chi Minh Thought.

At the same time, education had to be renewed strongly on the foundation of scientific principles of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought and the combination of theory and practice.

Regarding the HCM CYU, Mr Dung said, "It is necessary to build organisations under the union strong in every aspect, from politics, ideology to organisation so that they can shoulder the core role in youth movements and youth unions."

Youth education work should be defined as the first and foremost task and the main function of the union, in which the education of revolutionary ideals is the core of all activities, he stressed.

Hoang Trung Hai from the Party delegation of the Ministry of Industry spoke on measures to attract investment for industrial development in the 2006-2010 period.

The minister gave directions for industrial development in the next five years as follows: first, develop a new and more active export structure targeting development; shift to high-tech and high value products and industries; form a network of industrial establishments across the country which are diverse in scale and ownership; increase the ratio of high-tech, clean products as well as those relating to knowledge industry in order to enhance the competitiveness, efficiency and sustainable development of the national industrial sector. 

Second, during 2006-2010, exports should fuel industrial development and help the nation integrate into the region and the world; focusing resources on improving the competitive edge; and give due importance to developing the domestic market.

Third, co-operate, participate and fully exploit the division of industrial production in the region and the world, so as to link the nation with the regional and international production chain; and implement measures to attract capital from domestic and foreign sources for development. 

As for foreign investment, Minister Hai said, "In a number of sensitive fields such as banking, insurance, aviation, there should be clear regulations on the suitable limit for foreign investment, while in the remaining areas, the cap on foreign investment should be raised over the current 30%."

The minister added that appropriate measures and policies should be taken to persuade major economic groups to invest in large projects in Vietnam, while all domestic resources and Official Development Assistance (ODA) should be focused on building infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads, electricity and water supply, telecommunication networks and ports and storage areas.

"Favourable conditions should be offered to investors in BOT, BT projects, and the principles of Most-Favoured Nation treatment and national treatment in attracting foreign investment should be observed," Mr Hai said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency