I. GENERAL PERSPECTIVE

To socialize educational, medical and cultural activities is to mobilize and organize the broad participation of the people and the whole society into the development of this work with a view to raising step by step the level of educational, medical and cultural enjoyment of the people and promoting their physical and spiritual development,

Socialization is to build up the sense of community responsibility of the people of various strata toward the building and improvement of a healthy economic and social environment favorable for educational, medical and cultural activities. In each locality this is the sense of community responsibility of the local Party organization, People�s Council, People�s Committee, State agencies, mass organizations, economic organizations, enterprises based in the locality and of each citizen.

Socialization and diversification of the forms of educational, medical and cultural activities are closely connected. Along with strengthening the State organizations it is necessary to widely develop the activities undertaken by the collectives or individuals within the framework of the policies of the Party and the laws of the State. Diversification is actually to broaden the opportunities for various strata of the people to take part of their own free will and on an equal footing in the above activities.

Socialization is to broaden the sources of investment, to exploit the potentials in human, material and financial resources in the society, to develop and effectively use the various resources of the people, create conditions for educational, medical and cultural activities to develop more quickly and with a higher quality. This is a long-term policy and guideline for the realization of the social policy of the Party and State, not a temporary measure to cope with the immediate situation caused by the shortage of State budget for these activities. Even when our people already have a high income and the State budget has become plentiful, socialization will still be necessary because education, healthcare and culture is a long term work of the people which will develop unceasingly together with the great resources of the entire people.

Socialization does not mean to lighten the responsibility of the State or alleviate the State budget; on the contrary, the State needs to constantly look for new revenues to increase budget expenditures for these activities and at the same time exercise good management to increase the efficiency of these expenditures.

Socialization of educational, medical and cultural activities is also an important solution to carry out the policy of social equity in the strategy of economic and social development of the Party and the State. Social equity is reflected not only in the sphere of enjoyment, i.e. the care for the people by the society and the State, but also in the contribution of each citizen to society according to the practical capability of each person and each locality.

The principles of readjustment and priority in the policy of social equity must be applied. It is absolutely necessary to give priority to those persons with meritorious contributions to the country, to assist financially the poor people and the poor localities, those with greater services and contributions to the country must be given better care by the society and the State.

Social equity in the mobilization of the resources of the people into cultural and social activities does not mean an egalitarian mobilization but to apply such form and level of mobilization that accord with the various strata of the population who have different practical conditions and different levels of income. Those persons beneficaries of the social policies of the Party and the State shall be exempted from or enjoy reduction of contributions.

Social equity shall also be achieved through the development of the tradition of mutual assistance, "the whole leaves protecting the torn ones", the rich helping the poor, the rich areas helping the poor areas. It also means to develop many funds through the voluntary contributions of the people for humanitarian purposes such as the fund for the promotion of learning, the charity fund... The State has to promulgate the regulation on the establishment and management of these funds with a view to developing the capability for management and supervision of the contributors and carrying out the regime of making public all revenues and expenditures.

Socialization in the fields of education, healthcare and culture with a correct concept of social equity is actually to carry out the socialist orientation according to the line of the Party.

II. SOCIALIZATION OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

1. The mobilization of the entire people into educational work consists of the following :

To create a wide and deep movement of learning in the whole society in different forms; to campaign among the population, first of all among those in the working age, to learn all their life in order to work better, generate higher incomes, have a better life and to turn our society into a learned society.

To motivate the entire people to care for the young generation, create a healthy educational environment, and closely coordinate education in the school with education in the family and education in the society; to heighten the sense of responsibility of the Party committees, People�s Councils, People�s Committees, mass organizations, enterprises... toward the educational cause.

To heighten the sense of responsibility and increase the participation of the entire people in education with a view to strengthening and increasing the effect of the educational system to serve well the learning of the people.

2. Some undertakings and measures to socialize educational and training activities:

a/ Besides consolidating the State-run schools to help them maintain their leading role and serve as the core, it is necessary to open many forms of education, develop the various types of non-State schools in order to create the opportunities for everyone to raise their standard and have access to new knowledge and scientific and technical advances in order to use them in their daily work and life; to use the mass media to develop the system of distance learning... To perfect the mechanisms for managing and evaluating the results and quality of education.

To encourage and create favorable conditions to develop various types of semi-State, people-funded and private schools in the cities, towns and townships and areas with favorable economic conditions.

The guiding rate (for guiding purpose, not obligatory) for the development of the semi-State, people-funded and private schools in the cities, towns and townships is as follows: the major part shall be pre-school establishments; 10-15% shall be primary schools; 25%, basic secondary schools; and 50%, general secondary schools.

To transfer the vocational secondary schools for restricted branches to the State corporations and companies for direct management, associating training with the using unit. Major companies which need quick development of the personnel are allowed to raise the attached schools to post-graduate schools, provided the corporations shall cover the expenditures themselves.

To gradually transform the State job-training schools into semi-State schools, to develop the people-funded and private job training centers, associating job training with the market and the enterprises.

To strengthen the existing people-funded universities, to allow the setting up of more people-funded universities in a number of localities which need them and which are capable of managing them.

To promulgate concrete policies to support the non-State schools likely to function well. For instance, the People�s Committees in the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall support and create conditions in land for the non-State schools to build their schooling facilities. The State agencies shall rent existing establishments and works for such schools to establish their schooling places; the people shall contribute shares to build such schools; the banks shall provide loans with preferential terms so that these schools can invest in building the classes, buy schooling and study equipment; or allow teachers at State-run schools and scientists at the institutes to take part in teaching at these non-State schools. When transferred to semi-State or people-funded or private schools, teachers of public schools shall continue to receive their social insurance benefits.

b/ To exploit and effectively use the social resources to develop education. Along with increasing and effectively using the State budget, it is necessary to improve the regime of school fees and mobilize the contributions of the students� parents and the production and business organizations.

The mobilization of the people�s contributions to education must be carefully considered and based on the living standard and capabilities of the population in each region and each locality with due attention to ensuring social equity, so as to formulate appropriate policies of school fees as well as policies of social allowances and lending for schooling purposes.

To readjust the tuitions at the general education schools in the cities, towns and townships and areas with high average incomes (above the average level in the whole country); to administer lower tuitions in the areas with low average income (below the average income in the whole country); to exempt tutions for the deep-lying and remote areas. To raise tuitions at the job training schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities.

The tuitions at the public schools together with the provisions from the budget must meet the spending needs and assure the reasonable salary of the teachers. An end must be put to the arbitrary collection of money from the students, including the fees for extra-hours teaching which run counter to morality and the pedagogic principles.

The Prime Minister shall lay down the framework of tuition, the mechanism of collection and the use of tuitions, and assigns to the People�s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and the deans of the universities the right to set concrete tuitions in each locality and each university. Aside from tuition, the schools are allowed to collect only two other payments: contribution to the building of the school, and the admission and examination fee. The Ministry of Education and Training shall give the general guidance and determine the competence to decide the amounts of these two payments.

c/ To rationally distribute the educational network according to the economic and geographic conditions, the needs and the capacity of development of each locality .

To clearly determine the responsibility and managerial competence of the local People�s Committee with regard to education and training in the locality, the autonomy and responsibility of the training schools under the central management.

d/ To raise the quality of educational activities, to handle well the relations between size, quality and effectiveness.

To issue the system of norms about educational and training activities. The plans for renovation of education and training must be weighed and examined carefully as to their social and financial impacts.

To raise the quality of text-books, improve the contents and the printing of text- books so that they may be used for many years.

To quickly raise the quality of enrolment and training work of the teachers� schools; pay attention to increasing the number of teachers for the schools in the mountain, deep-lying and remote areas.