15th NA’s eighth session: Ministers outline plans for education, labour, agriculture

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan noted that the PM recently issued an dispatch outlining urgent tasks and solutions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyễn Kim Sơn, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Đào Ngọc Dung, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan provided insights into their respective sectors and addressed pressing concerns raised by lawmakers at the 15th National Assembly’s eighth session in Hà Nội on Monday.

Minister Nguyễn Kim Sơn announced the proposed amendments to Decree 127 concerning State management responsibilities in education. This includes evaluating which administrative body should oversee continuing education and vocational training centres. By the end of November, the ministry plans to hold a national conference with directors of all centres to address management and operational bottlenecks, he said.

Sơn also underlined the need to identify challenges in training a workforce that meets the demands of foreign-invested enterprises, advocated for planning and proactive measures to ensure the workforce is adequately prepared for emerging and pillar technological fields.

Meanwhile, Minister Đào Ngọc Dung highlighted the development of a scheme aimed at cultivating a semiconductor workforce by 2030, with a vision to 2050, and another for the hi-tech industry. He underscored the necessity of effective policies to attract a quality workforce into the public sector. In higher education, he called for a focus on scientific research and identified university autonomy as a breakthrough.

Looking ahead, he proposed building a national policy framework on preventing population aging and adjusting the replacement birth rate, starting from 2025.

Minister Lê Minh Hoan, for his part, reported that the ministry has submitted two decrees to the Prime Minister, aimed at supporting agricultural production affected by natural disasters and production losses caused by animal diseases. The ministry has also redesigned its policy to increase aid for affected farmers while preventing policy profiteering.

About sustainable fisheries development, he noted that the PM recently issued an dispatch outlining urgent tasks and solutions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, in preparation for an upcoming session with the European Commission’s fifth inspection delegation.