On the morning of December 12, 2024, a Vietnamese education delegation led by Minister Nguyễn Kim Sơn visited the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre (TEC) and held in-depth discussions with TEC on China-Vietnam teacher development and cooperation. The Vietnamese delegation consisted of 11 members, including key officials from the Ministry of Education and Training, the Rector and Cooperation Development Commissioner of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under Hanoi National University, the Head of the Education Division of the Vietnamese Embassy in China, and the Consul General and Consul of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Shanghai. Present at the meeting and discussions were relevant leaders such as Liu Li, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; Yuan Wen, President of Shanghai Normal University; Jiang Mingjun, Vice President of Shanghai Normal University; and Zhang Minxuan, Director of TEC. They were accompanied by Liu Jiangyuan, Level-4 Researcher of the International Exchange Division of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and Xiao Shengxiong, Director of the International Exchange Division of Shanghai Normal University. The event was chaired by Professor Wang Jie, Deputy Director of the International Teacher Education Centre at Shanghai Normal University.
Liu Li, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, first extended a warm welcome to Minister Nguyễn Kim Sơn and his delegation. He noted that China-Vietnam educational cooperation has continued to deepen in recent years, yielding a series of fruitful outcomes. The Agreement on Educational Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed by the two governments has provided solid policy support for bilateral educational cooperation. Deputy Director Liu sincerely hoped that through this visit and exchange, China and Vietnam could jointly explore the future path of educational development.
Subsequently, Yuan Wen, President of Shanghai Normal University, and Zhang Minxuan, Director of TEC, extended warm welcomes to the delegation on behalf of the university and TEC respectively. Both emphasized that 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam, expressing their expectation to reach more consensus with Vietnam, further promote bilateral cooperation in education, and work together to advance the common development of education in both countries.
Nguyễn Kim Sơn, Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, pointed out that since China and Vietnam established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in 2008, bilateral relations have developed rapidly. In recent years, despite significant achievements in education and training in Vietnam with government support, challenges remain, such as teacher shortages and imbalanced subject structures. The Minister expressed hope that TEC would strengthen cooperation with Vietnam to jointly support teacher training programs, enhance teachers' teaching capabilities, and make important contributions to achieving sustainable development.
Following the welcome ceremony, Director Zhang Minxuan introduced the founding history of TEC to the guests and elaborated on Shanghai's current teacher training and development system. He emphasized that Shanghai has established an efficient and mature teacher training system and a trinity policy system for teacher professional development. The Shanghai Municipal Government attaches great importance to teachers' professional development and is committed to enhancing their comprehensive literacy. He stated that TEC is willing to share Shanghai's and even China's experience in teacher training with Vietnam, facilitating China-Vietnam educational cooperation and promoting high-quality development of global education.
After Director Zhang's introduction, Vietnamese representatives focused on issues such as language, curriculum training, and teacher development support, presenting the challenges they currently face and the support they need to TEC. Mr. Phạm Quang Hưng, Director of the Vietnamese International Cooperation Department, expressed hope to establish long-term cooperation with TEC, noting that Vietnamese education needs more assistance from TEC, especially in the context of artificial intelligence. Nguyễn Thu Thủy, Director of the Vietnamese University Education Department, pointed out that Vietnam will cultivate teachers in accordance with the standards of TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) in the future. Minister Nguyễn Kim Sơn stated that Vietnam will pay special attention to the training of Chinese and English teachers in the future, hoping that with TEC's assistance, Vietnamese teachers can achieve faster and higher-quality development. Director Zhang Minxuan responded to Vietnam's questions one by one, expressing his expectation that TEC and Vietnam will further deepen communication and cooperation in pre-service education, teacher education, and other fields.
Photos/Contributions provided by: UNESCO Teacher Education Centre
