English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
Second, Article 6 of the Law on Primary Education provides that the State will ensure
the necessary conditions for carrying out primary education in ethnic minority areas, in
mountainous and remote regions, on islands, and in areas encountering special difficulties.
Third, the Five-Year Strategic Education Development Plan 2006-2010 (Ref:
6520/BGD&DT-KHTC of July 28, 2005) lists specific objectives and targets, including:
General Education: Focus on generalization of primary education at the right age in
the ethnic, remote and mountainous, and disadvantaged areas. Increase the rate of
boarding ethnic minority pupils to 1.75% a year in the lower secondary school level
and 2.22% in the upper secondary school level;
University Education: Create favourable conditions for ethnic minority children in
disadvantaged areas to access to the same education as other areas.
Fourth, the elimination of the gender gap in primary and secondary education by 2005,
and the gap among ethnic minorities in primary and secondary education by 2010, is one of
the VDGs. The indicator is the net enrolment rate at primary, secondary and tertiary education
levels by gender.
Fifth, the SEDP also identifies in the Poverty Reduction and Social Development
Targets of Viet Nam by 2010 the eradication of the gender imbalance at primary and
secondary education levels in areas with large ethnic minorities by 2010.
Sixth, the Plan of Action for Advancement of Women has targets to: (a) strive for
eradication of illiteracy for at least 95 percent of women aged under 40 years and to increase
the proportion of literate ethnic minority women; and (b) increase the proportion of women at
junior and senior secondary schools to over 90 percent and 50 percent respectively, with
special attention to remote and mountainous and ethnic minority areas.
Seventh, the Resolution on Work for Women highlights as one of the tasks and solutions
of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the State the putting in place policies to support and
create favorable conditions for ethnic minority women in remote and mountainous regions for
the eradication of illiteracy, universalization of primary education, vocational training, poverty
reduction, information access and cultural enjoyment.
Eighth, the Law on Education emphasizes a number of measures to address ethnic
minority disparity in accessing education as follows:
Article 61 provides for boarding general education schools, semi-boarding general
education schools and pre-university schools for ethnic minorities. These schools
must be given priority in the allocation of teachers, material foundations, equipment
and budget;
Article 89 mentions scholarships and social subsidies. The law provides that the
State will adopt policies for the grant of scholarships to students enrolled through
nomination, those in boarding schools for ethnic minorities, vocational training
schools for war invalids, and disabled and handicapped people;
Article 89 further requires the State to adopt policies on tuition subsidy and
reduction/exemption for learners who are social policy beneficiaries, ethnic
minorities in ‘areas meeting with extraordinary socio-economic difficulties’, orphans,
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Education (Article 10 of CEDAW)