Providing preschool education for all children when they reach fiveyears old is one of the key tasks facing the education sector in theschool year ahead.

The sector set the goal at anonline meeting reviewing the 2012-2013 academic year on August 22. Thesuccess of the nation’s preschools was put under the spotlight as aprogramme to boost this sector and increase the number of studentsattending was launched three years ago.

It was agreedthat in order to be successful, the development of preschoolinfrastructure is essential. It is hoped that this will encourageparents to send their children in the preschool age bracket (of whom 95percent are five years old) to preschools for early education.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia said theministry will direct its departments to support disadvantaged familiesso that they are able to send their children to preschools.

At the meeting, head of the Preschool Education Department Nguyen BaMinh said that during the 2012-2013 school year - the third year of theproject - 99 percent of five-year-old children were sent to school.

However, the rate in some provinces, including Kien Giang, Soc Trangand An Giang, were low (4.8, 6.4 and 9 percent respectively), accordingto Minh. More worryingly still, 35 percent of cities and provincescontained no districts that could fulfil the target.

The shortage of teachers and preschools was said to be the main reason for the situation.

The sector also considered investing and developing education andtraining for mountainous and ethnic minority people as one of its toppriorities in the new school year.

It will manage theteaching of ethnic minority languages and strengthen Vietnamese languageeducation at preschools in these regions, as well as improving thestandard of secondary education.-VNA