Solutions for a learning society

General Secretary To Lam's viewpoint on lifelong learning not only has profound practical significance but is also closely related to Ho Chi Minh's thought on building a learning society and is consistent with Lenin's spirit of "Learn, learn more, learn forever".

In his article, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that lifelong learning not only helps individuals improve themselves but also contributes to the development of the Party and the country. The General Secretary emphasized that in the digital age, people need to constantly update their knowledge to avoid falling behind.

General Secretary To Lam frankly pointed out the reality: Although the policy of lifelong learning has been affirmed in many policies of the Party and State, its implementation still faces many challenges and limitations. These include limitations in access to education, as in many remote areas, learning opportunities are limited due to a lack of facilities, lecturers and learning materials. In addition, there is a digital gap and the ability to apply technology when not everyone has the conditions to access and use technology effectively for learning. Meanwhile, training and development work is still focused on quantity without really paying attention to quality, self-study habits, real learning and lifelong learning of cadres and party members have not achieved the desired results.

In particular, the General Secretary pointed out that there is a lack of motivation to learn in the community. Many people still consider learning to be only related to the time spent in school, are satisfied with the knowledge they have learned in schools, are afraid of learning, afraid of difficulties, and do not have the concept of regular learning and lifelong learning. Many people even suffer from individualism and empiricism, so they become backward and conservative.

There is also a reality that there is a situation of studying according to trends, being obsessed with degrees or just studying for advancement without really basing it on practical requirements, not seeing the value of lifelong learning, not delving into thinking to reach new heights of knowledge.

It can be said that these are very accurate and realistic assessments of the General Secretary about the current limitations in implementing the policy of "lifelong learning".

Based on a direct look at reality, the General Secretary’s article analyzes the country’s need for cadres in a profound way. More than ever, the country needs cadres with innovative thinking, vision, and actions, who dare to think, speak, act, take responsibility, and sacrifice.

Lifelong learning has become a rule of life, not only helping each individual to recognize, adapt, and not fall behind the daily changes of the world, but also enriching intelligence, perfecting personality, and training courage to solve urgent practical demands.

Perfecting personality and qualifications helps the cadres have the capacity to thoroughly overcome "bottlenecks" and formalities in self-criticism and criticism; eliminate stagnation, create a cadre who is brave, has correct awareness, is proactive and determined, dares to take responsibility for work results, dares to oppose unjust glory and wealth, and if necessary, dares to sacrifice personal interests for the Party, the Fatherland and the people.

The General Secretary's article strongly impacted the consciousness of every cadre, Party member, and citizen, so that everyone clearly realized that lifelong learning is not only a personal need but also an essential requirement to improve national capacity. This idea is completely consistent with the viewpoint of President Ho Chi Minh, who once emphasized: "Learning never ends, as long as you live, you must continue to learn." According to him, learning is not only acquiring knowledge from school but also self-learning from practice, from people and from life.

In the article “Lifelong Learning”, General Secretary To Lam gave very specific instructions to each individual, each Party Committee, and each organization to raise awareness and clearly define the goals and contents of learning. In particular, the General Secretary called on cadres, Party members, and Party organizations to take the lead in learning, because they are the force that guides and orients society.

General Secretary To Lam’s practical assessments and views on lifelong learning are not only an important orientation but also an urgent requirement in the current context, in continuing to build an effective learning society. That learning society, according to Ho Chi Minh’s thought, means creating conditions for everyone to learn, regardless of age, level or circumstances.

Lifelong learning is no longer an option but has become a prerequisite for each individual to develop in the new era. The strong development of technology is both an opportunity and a challenge, requiring each person to have a sense of continuous learning.

With the cooperation of individuals, organizations and governments, we can build a learning society where everyone has the opportunity to improve their knowledge and contribute to the country. Now more than ever, it is time to implement specific, synchronous, long-term solutions to create an ideal environment for lifelong learning.

Accordingly, all levels and sectors need to perfect policies to support lifelong education, through financial support for educational programs, encouraging units to participate in training, and supporting personnel to improve their qualifications.

The education sector needs to build a more open and flexible education system, including increasing online learning programs, distance learning, and even homeschooling, so that people can study anytime, anywhere.

It is necessary to continue promoting the application of technology in education, promoting digital transformation in education, using artificial intelligence and big data to personalize learning paths for each person, and supporting the dissemination of digital skills so that people can make the most of online learning resources.

It is necessary to complete digital libraries and free learning platforms to widely disseminate knowledge. At the same time, it is necessary to have reasonable remuneration policies to attract and retain competent teachers and consultants, and train new teaching skills, helping teachers to apply creative teaching methods suitable for each group of learners.

The most important thing is to eliminate the lack of motivation to learn in the community, by promoting a culture of reading and self-study through organizing programs to encourage learning, reading, book fairs, knowledge exchange forums, and encouraging the development of online learning communities where people can share and learn from each other.

Create a lifelong learning environment in every organization and community, build a learning culture, retrain staff to respond to changes in technology and the market, localities need to develop community learning centers where people can participate in free training courses.

The perception and evaluation of qualifications also need to be adjusted to improve the real capacity of workers. Lifelong learning is not only about acquiring knowledge but also about training thinking, ethics and life skills. It is important to build a sense of learning everywhere, every time, from books, work to social relationships.

When the whole society joins hands, lifelong learning will no longer be a slogan but will become a core value, contributing to improving the quality of human resources and promoting the sustainable development of the country.

In the past 3 months, a series of important decisions on education and training have been issued, demonstrating the deep concern of the Party and State for building a learning society, from Circular 29 on extra teaching and learning, to the policy of exempting tuition fees for high school students and now the article by General Secretary To Lam affirming the importance of lifelong learning.

These policies and guidelines support each other, contributing to removing barriers to access to education, creating strong motivation for every citizen, from students to officials, civil servants and workers, to have awareness and conditions for continuous learning, learning everywhere, every time, in every field, to adapt to the development of the times, improve themselves, become a positive factor in a healthy collective, ready for all innovations and breakthroughs.