As the Ministry of Education and Training is implementing the radical and comprehensive renovation of education, H.E. Vice Minister Nguyen Thi Nghia, Chair of the Education Sector Committee for the Advancement of Women, affirmed that mainstreaming gender equality and girls’ and women’s education in the reform is a priority for the Ministry, stating “gender inequality is one of the underlying challenges to the eradication of poverty, creating a barrier to the country’s sustainable development.”

The Initiative will provide technical assistance to ensure gender equality in the renovation of curriculum and textbooks, the training of education managers and policy developers, the development of innovative teaching and learning materials, and joint efforts between parents and communities to support schools to promote enabling environments for students to better apply what they learn in school within their homes and communities.

The Initiative, developed jointly by the Ministry of Education and Training and UNESCO, will result in a broadly-consulted and participatory Action Plan for Gender Equality in the Education Sector for the 2016-2020 Period that will foresee opportunities to increase access to quality education for girls and women, especially those in disadvantaged and vulnerable situations, contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Quality Education and Goal 5 on Gender Equality. United Nations team members UN Women, UNFPA and UNDP have joined UNESCO to provide specialized expertise for the Initiative.

The launching ceremony was led by Vice Minister Nghia, who oversees the implementation of the Initiative’s components with the participation of various departments and institutes of the Ministry of Education and Training and other implementing partners, such as the Viet Nam Women’s Museum, the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV) and the Viet Nam Association for Learning Promotion, among others. In order to successfully achieve the Initiative’s objectives, Vice Minister Nghia emphasized the importance of collaboration and teamwork among relevant departments within the Ministry and with UNESCO, building a strong foundation for the development and enhancement of Viet Nam’s Education Sector policies, strategies and plans.

Mr. Tran Kim Tu, Deputy Director of the Personnel Department of the Ministry and Education and Training and focal point for the Initiative, highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation within the Ministry and with other external partners. Mr. Tu continued, stating “the Department, on behalf of all participating departments and institutes, commits to working and cooperating closely with UNESCO and other relevant stakeholders to ensure in the successful implementation and achievement of all expected results.”

The Representative of UNESCO to Viet Nam, Ms. Katherine Muller-Marin, recognized the efforts of the private sector, who provided the financial support for the Initiative, and called for the involvement of others to ensure that the Ministry and UNESCO’s “joint work in gender equality will serve as an international example of the positive role the private sector has in education in Viet Nam.” Ms. Muller-Marin went on to highlight the media’s “important responsibility as a ‘teacher’ in the larger society…guiding and informing the population carefully” and the need for gender equality and girls’ and women’s education to be mainstreamed into all reporting.

Gender equality is a global priority of UNESCO and is inextricably linked to UNESCO’s efforts to promote the right to education and support the achievement of national development goals in Viet Nam.

For more information, please contact Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Nhung at tt.nhung(at)unesco.org.