Viet Nam is expected to comprehensively renew education and training by 2030 to effect in both education quality and efficiency.

The target is part of a draft master plan on education and training renovation released by the Ministry of Education and Training at a press briefing on Thursday.

Under this plan, the education and training sector will aim to help Vietnamese people develop basic knowledge, skills and creativity to contribute to national development.

The country also hopes to provide pre-school education for all five-year-olds by 2015 and tuition fee exemptions by 2020.

To fulfill these targets, the master plan focuses on several key measures. These include increasing Party leadership and State management over the education renovation process and continuing to strongly renew education programmes (including education targets, content and methods) towards developing students' quality and capacity.

Other measures include restructuring exams and education quality assessments together with renovating policies, financial mechanisms and enhancing infrastructure.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien admitted the current education system was failing to promote the capacity of each individual. Education solely focuses on equipping students with knowledge, but fails to outline appropriate study methods for them, he said.

He said the sector's target was to develop students' capacity and quality, not just focusing on providing knowledge. Therefore, the master plan would pay more attention to increasing opportunities for students to apply their knowledge.

Regarding education human resources, the head of the ministry's Personnel Department, Bui Manh Nhi, who is also a member of the compiling board, said more preferential policies were needed to attract more outstanding candidates top work in the sector.

At present, students at education-focused universities enjoy free tuition and the policy had helped lure a large number of students, but not enough worked as teachers after graduating from these universities, he said.

The master plan is scheduled to be submitted to the Party Central Committee for approval next month.

MoET review

The Ministry of Education and Training plans to review the quality of university facilities, lecturers and management staff by the end of this year.

Bui Anh Tuan, head of the Tertiary Education Department, said that university faculties that fail to meet the ministry's regulations would be forced to stop enrollment.

If universities do not have methods to correct their shortcomings, they will have to withdraw those programmes, according to Tuan.

Next year, the ministry will review training programmes of colleges.

In the 2010-2011 period, the ministry reviewed doctoral training programmes of universities and research institutes.

At least 57 programmes at 27 universities and research institutes were asked to cease enrolling students.

Last year, the ministry ceased enrollment for 161 majors at the master's degree level that had failed to improve quality.

Currently, the country has 420 universities and colleges with more than 2,000 faculties in many fields including health, pedagogy, and economics.

The ministry is also completing a legislative framework on quality assessment and creating centres for assessment.

Tuan said the ministry was paying more attention to teaching and managing staff at universities and colleges.

It aimed to increase the number of lecturers with doctoral degrees to 23 per cent by 2020, he said.

The ministry is also encouraging schools to strengthen international co-operation in training and scientific research, as well as technology transfer.