UNESCO’s main areas of assistance to Viet Nam since the establishment of Hanoi Office are the following:
- EFA (Education for All) - Support to preparation, implementation and monitoring of National EFA Action Plan;
- Provincial education planning (PREP);
- Literacy and non-formal education (NFE);
- Quality of education and life-skills;
- Higher education reform; and
- Other areas of UNESCO support to education in Viet Nam include
- Gender in education
- Early childhood care and education (ECCE)
- Inclusive education
- Secondary education
- HIV/AIDS and education
- Education for sustainable development (ESD)
- Statistical capacity building
- Education management information system (EMIS)
Proposed UNESCO interventions (according to the Aide Memoire between the Government of Viet Nam and UNESCO 2010-2015):
- Implementation of National education for All (EFA) Plan of Action (2003-2015);
- Implementation of the education development plans and programs to enhance quality and relevance at all education levels;
- Capacity building of institutions and professional education human resources;
- Promotion and strengthening UN Literacy Decade (UNLD 2003-2012); the Government’s strategy for Building a Learning Society in Vietnam (2011-2020); and UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD 2005-2014);
- Enhancing education sector preparedness and responsiveness to natural disasters, emergencies and other risks;
- Strengthening provision of technical and vocational education and training (TVET);
- Strengthening HIV/AIDS prevention and stigma reduction education;
- Integration of cultural and linguistic diversity in education in promotion of peace and social participation;
- Supporting disciplinary programs including:
- Natural sciences – participation in programs for sustainable development, promotion of Geoparks, enhance knowledge about cultural diversity and biodiversity, capacity building for research and innovation;
- Social and human sciences – promote research and evidence-based and culturally appropriate policy making, ethics in science and technology, and youth participation in civil, political and community life;
- Culture – policies and capacities ro protect heritage, promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogues, and advocate culture for sustainable development;
- Communication and information – strengthening institutions capacities to improve public access to information resources and participation in intergovernmental programs; strengthening media capacities to reach remote/rural area, promote cultural and gender sensitivity and enhance public engagement in governance and reform in social, economic and environmental issues.
Major development partners active in education and broad areas of interventions:
Asian Development Bank (ADB):
- Supporting the development and implementation of an effective system of institutional management and governance;
- Enhancing equitable access to high education and develop high quality and relevant academic programs;
- Identifying and piloting cost-effective programs that are accessible to and foster Community – Based Early Childhood Care and Development;
- Strengthening the capacity of central and local governments in the planning, financing, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of integrated ECCD interventions;
- Improving the living standard of the poor and ethnic minorities by equipping them with relevant skills for employment and self-employment;
- Helping reduce poverty in Viet Nam by improving the quality of upper secondary and professional secondary education thereby producing a better-qualified and more productive work force;
- Improving the average learning outcome among secondary students through effective and accountable management of secondary education, improved quality for international competitiveness, and better access and equity for disadvantaged groups;
- Establishing higher level skills training in 15 key occupations.
United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF):
- Supporting efforts towards ensuring all children of 6 to 11 years have equal access to quality primary education.
The World Bank (WB):
- Improving learning outcomes and education completion for primary education students, particularly disadvantaged primary education students, through supporting the Government's full-day schooling (FDS) reform program;
- Increasing the quality of teaching and research in universities in ways that improve the employability of graduates and the relevance of research in Viet Nam.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID):
- Working with the private sector to improve the quality of high-demand university engineering programs;
- Supporting the development of a disability law and the National Action Plan for Disability in order to help provide better access to education, employment, and social services for people with disabilities;
- Implementing programs for poor and ethnic minorities living in the Central Highlands to provide greater access to education and other socio-economic services.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA):
- Supporting the development of higher education, focusing on Information Communication Technology (ICT);
- Supporting the Strengthening of the Capacity of ITSS Education at Hanoi University of Technology.
