General Secretary To Lam: Investing in education is investing in the future.

DNHN - The new academic year 2025–2026 officially began, marking the start of a new phase in Vietnam’s education: humanistic, globally integrated, innovative, and reaching outward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s leading nations.

On September 5, 2025, in a solemn atmosphere, the Ministry of Education and Training held a ceremony at the National Convention Center to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the education sector and inaugurate the new school year. The event was connected live to more than 52,000 schools nationwide, bringing together 1.6 million teachers and 26 million students—a nationwide festival of learning and pride.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Education and Training was honored to receive the First-Class Labor Order, presented by the State President, recognizing the sector’s sustained contributions over 80 years of building and developing Vietnam’s revolutionary education.

The ceremony was attended by senior leaders of the Party, State, National Assembly, Government, and Fatherland Front: General Secretary To Lam; State President Luong Cuong; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man; Standing Secretariat member Tran Cam Tu; and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien. Also present were leaders of central ministries, agencies, local governments, social-political organizations, as well as provincial and city representatives.

Representing the education sector were Minister Nguyen Kim Son, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Thuong, and a wide presence of administrators, teachers, and students both in person and online.

In an emotional address, Education Minister Nguyen Kim Son reflected on eight decades of progress while igniting aspirations for reform and a strategic vision ahead.

“At this sacred moment, we remember President Ho Chi Minh with boundless gratitude, and we honor the martyrs, generations of teachers, and students who sacrificed for the nation’s independence and freedom,” he said. “The country’s achievements today bear the vital contributions of education and training. What we have accomplished over the past 80 years is a tremendous success, indeed, a miracle.”

He formally declared the opening of the 2025–2026 academic year nationwide: “This will be a year of action, decisively advancing strategic goals toward a modern, humanistic, advanced education that reaches the world.”

Minister Son also reaffirmed Vietnam’s ambitious target: by 2045, the centenary of national independence, the country aims to rank among the world’s top 20 education systems. That goal, he said, rests firmly on Politburo Resolution 71-NQ/TW, which he described as a document of “long-term vision, high practicality, and strong action orientation, launching a new revolution in education.”

A highlight of the ceremony was the solemn presentation of the First-Class Labor Order to the Ministry of Education and Training, by decision of the State President on September 3, 2025. General Secretary To Lam personally awarded the honor, symbolizing the Party, State, and people’s deepest gratitude and trust in education as the foundation of the nation’s future.

Speaking after the presentation, General Secretary To Lam warmly congratulated teachers and students across the country and emphasized the sector’s strategic role: Investing in education is investing in the future, deciding the future of the nation.

He called on the education sector to focus on a series of transformative priorities:

• Strengthening the legal framework and removing institutional bottlenecks to enable sustainable growth.

• Mobilizing the strength of national solidarity, recognizing education as a responsibility shared by all in society.

• Reforming governance and management, ensuring every teacher is not only a transmitter of knowledge but also a role model and moral guide for youth.

• Making universal access to schooling an urgent priority, leaving no child behind.

• Reducing exam pressure, creating healthy and inspiring learning environments, while ensuring tuition policies are fair and accessible.

• Encouraging students to practice discipline, master technology and digital intelligence, and live by Ho Chi Minh’s five teachings as a moral foundation.

• Driving breakthroughs in higher education, promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, and integration with global best practices.

• Elevating teachers’ status, livelihood, and working conditions as the cornerstone of educational quality.

• Establishing internationally recognized innovation centers to connect Vietnamese intellect with the world.

Particularly, the General Secretary addressed students with a moving message: “The generations before you shed blood and made sacrifices. Now it is your duty to cultivate discipline, creativity, and digital mastery, to become useful citizens leading in digital transformation and contributing to building a strong and prosperous nation.”

As General Secretary To Lam struck the ceremonial drum to inaugurate the new school year, the sound resonated as a pledge: 2025–2026 will be a year of humanity, integration, and creativity, marking a confident step for Vietnam’s education to rise, alongside the world’s leading nations, in nurturing the country’s future.

Representing the voice of more than 26 million students nationwide, Kieu Tuan Dinh, a student at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, delivered an impassioned speech: “Looking back at our nation’s history and the lessons of our forefathers, we will draw strength from culture, identity, and the humanistic spirit of the Vietnamese people to face and overcome new challenges with the conviction: ‘I am Vietnamese.’”

Dr. Nguyễn Thúy Lan

Vietnamese Version: https://doanhnghiephoinhap.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-dau-tu-cho-giao-duc-la-dau-tu-cho-tuong-lai-la-quyet-dinh-tuong-lai-cua-dat-nuoc-114971.html