Vietnam shares experience in increasing children's access to education

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA)

Pretoria (VNA) – Education is especially important in eradicating child labour, Vietnam's representative said at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban, South Africa, and called for strengthening cooperation for the improvement of high school education, career orientation,and vocational training.

In her speech at the May 17 event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids, and Social AffairsNguyen Thi Ha introducedsolutions that the Vietnamese Government has been implementing to increase children’saccess to education, as well as to reduce the risk of school dropping out and childlabour.

The official said 94.4 percent of child population inVietnam has gained access to education thanks to policies designed for the purpose implenented in parallel with those for social welfare and poverty reduction.

Many models and solutions, including those supporting childrenat risk of labour exploitation to access vocational training, have been rolled outvia Government- and international-funded projects, she added.

The deputy minister also talked about Vietnam’s experiencein ensuring education throughout the period of COVID-19 pandemic and in bringing children back to school after social distancing measures were lifted.

Vietnam will continue to act and look forward to receivingstronger technical and resources assistance to successfully implement the goalsof the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially Target 8.7 on theabolition of child labour, she affirmed.

At the conference, the Vietnamese delegation, grouping representativesof the Government, trade unions, and employers, joined the discussion aboutinvestments and good practices in reducing direct and indirect costs ofschooling and removing barriers to school access.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of theevent, Dang Hoa Nam, Director of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and SocialAffairs’ Department of Child Protection and Care, said the delegation had proposed solutions to improve the quality of education and increase the accessto education of children, especially those from poor and near-poor households who are atrisk of falling victim to child labour./.

VNA