Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Education and Training held a ceremony in Hanoi on May 25 to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the National Script Dissemination Association (May 25, 1938), which is the predecessor of the continuing education sector nowadays.
Addressing the event, Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do said the romanised script, developed by French missionary Alexandre de Rhodes in the 17th century, became the official script of Vietnam in the early 20th century and was called Quoc ngu (national script).
But it was not until 1917 that the romanized script completely won against Han (Chinese) and Nom (modified Chinese script of Vietnam). However, up to 95 percent of Vietnam’s population was illiterate at that time.
After the Communist Party of Vietnam came into being in 1930, the then Party Committee of the northern region decided to set up an organisation to fight illiteracy and invite intellectuals to take part in this organisation.
The legality of the National Script Dissemination Association was recognised on July 29, 1938. However, the organisation took May 25, 1938 as its official establishment day.
It opened the first course on September 9, 1938. From June 1940 to July 1944, the organisation ran 820 classes with 2,908 teachers and 41,118 students. Nearly 9,460 of the students had escaped illiteracy by September 1944.
The organisation began operations in the central region on January 5, 1939 and in the southern region on November 5, 1944.
After the August Revolution in 1945 that led to the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the mass education movement was launched, and the National Script Dissemination Association ceased operation.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do said in nearly two decades since Vietnam declared the elimination of illiteracy and universalisation of primary education, illiteracy eradication efforts have been maintained and resulted in major achievements.
The literacy rate has reached about 97.35 percent in the 15-60 age group and 92.56 percent among ethnic minority people, he noted.
At the ceremony, the education ministry also honoured collectives and persons with outstanding attainments in illiteracy eradication in recent years.-VNA
VNA
