Vietnam Aims To Promote Human Development in Ethnic Minority Areas

The Government has issued a resolution on promoting human resources development in ethnic minority inhabited areas in 2016-2020, with orientation towards 2030. Objectives of the plan are to comprehensively improve health, awareness, manners, education and vocational skills for people from ethnic minority groups, especially those that remain limited in human resources development. This is expected to gradually narrow the development gap between areas, thus meeting the demands for the country’s development and the labor market at present and in the future. It also aims to increase the number of intellectuals, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in ethnic minority communities, towards fuelling the nation’s socio-economic development and sustainable poverty reduction. The plan set to increase the life expectancy of ethnic minority people to 73 years old by 2020, and 75 in 2030, while reducing the malnutrition rate in ethnic minority children under five years old to 29% in 2020, and 19% ten years later. The number of ethnic minority students pursuing studies in universities and colleges is expected to reach 130-150 out of every ten thousand people, and over 30% and 50% of ethnic minority people in the working age will be trained in vocational skills by 2020 and 2030, respectively. To realize the set targets, the resolution put forward many solutions like opening more boarding schools in disadvantaged districts, increasing the number of ethnic minority teachers, and granting more scholarships to students in boarding schools. Poor ethnic women living in remote areas and children aged between 2-3 will be supported in line with policies on productive health and nutritional caring. Centers for high-quality vocational training will be established, while consultation and job introduction to ethnic minority laborers will be intensified. (http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ Jun 17)