What is the meaning of February 21? Will the State of Vietnam facilitate ethnic minorities to learn their first language?

What is the meaning of February 21?

According to the Perpetual Calendar for February 2025:

February 21, 2025 falls on a Friday and is the 24th day of the 01st lunar month.

Thus, February 21 is an ordinary day in the year, but it holds some special events and significance domestically and in some parts of the world. To be specific:

(1) Domestic events on February 21

- February 21, 1950 - Opening of the first Congress of the Youth for National Salvation and the Vietnam Youth Federation in Viet Bac. More than 400 delegates from the North, Central, and South (including temporarily occupied areas and cities) attended, raising high the determination "All for the frontlines, all for victory." The congress established a unified foundation of thought and action for the youth, defining the duties and position of youth in the period of a strong transition to total counterattack. At the congress, Comrade Truong Chinh, General Secretary of the Communist Party, spoke about the "Ideal of Vietnamese Youth."

- February 21, 1962 - Traditional day of police forces supporting the Southern battlefield.

- February 21, 1981 - Playwright Luu Quang Thuan, born in 1921 in Da Nang city, passed away.

(2) World events on February 21

- February 21, 1848 - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto in London, United Kingdom.

- February 21, 1912 - The United States Navy dispatched the cruiser USS West Virginia to Palmyra Atoll to reassert American sovereignty there.

- February 21, 1916 - World War I: The German army launched the Battle of Verdun.

- February 21, 1918 - The Carolina parakeet, the only parrot native to the eastern United States, became extinct after the last individual died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.

- February 21, 1952 - Armed forces opened fire on protesters in Dhaka, East Pakistan demanding recognition of Bengali as an official language.

- February 21, 1965 - Writer Mikhain Solokhop received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

- February 21, 1972 - United States President Richard Nixon began an official visit to China to normalize Sino-American relations.

- February 21, 1973 - After accidentally straying into airspace occupied by Israel, a Libyan airplane was shot down by the Israeli Air Force.

- February 21, 1973 - The Vientiane Agreement on peace and national reconciliation in Laos was signed between the pro-American Vientiane government and the Pathet Lao. The signing of the Vientiane Agreement simultaneously ended the American imperialist invasion of the Land of a Million Elephants, opening a new path for the people of Laos' ethnic groups. This victory was also a victory for the revolutionary movement of the people of Indochina.

- February 21, 1984 - The renowned writer Mikhain Solokhop passed away.

- February 21, 1995 - Steve Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, becoming the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

(2) Commemorative Day

- International Mother Language Day initiated by UNESCO to preserve and promote linguistic diversity worldwide.

Note: The information is for reference purposes only!

What is the meaning of February 21? (Image from the Internet)

Will the State of Vietnam facilitate ethnic minorities to learn their first language?

Under Article 11 of the Education Law 2019:

Languages, written languages used in educational institutions

1. Vietnamese is the official language to be used in educational institutions. Based on the goals of education and specific requirements on educational contents, the Government shall stipulate the teaching and learning via foreign languages in educational institutions.

2. The State shall encourage and enable ethnic minority people to learn their spoken and written languages as prescribed in Governmental regulations; hearing-impaired and speaking-impaired persons to learn via sign language, vision-impaired persons to learn via the Braille alphabet as prescribed in the Law on Persons with Disabilities.

3. Foreign languages defined in educational programmes are the languages used commonly in international communication. The teaching of foreign languages in educational institutions should guarantee that learners have continuing and effective learning process.

According to the regulations above, the State encourages and facilitates ethnic minorities to learn their first language and written language under the regulations of the Government of Vietnam.

What are the conditions for organizing the teaching of ethnic minority languages at general education institutions in Vietnam?

According to Article 2 of Circular 32/2021/TT-BGDDT regarding the conditions for organizing the teaching of ethnic minority languages at general education institutions in Vietnam:

- Local ethnic minorities have aspirations and demands to learn ethnic minority languages in educational institutions.

- The ethnic minority grapheme taught and learned in educational institutions must be a traditional grapheme that has been widely circulated and used within the ethnic community, as identified by professional bodies and approved by the provincial People's Committee or a grapheme issued by the Government of Vietnam. For ethnic minority languages with multiple graphemes, the choice of grapheme for teaching is decided by the Ministry of Education and Training.

- The ethnic minority languages program is issued by the Ministry of Education and Training and ethnic minority language textbooks are approved by the Ministry of Education and Training.

- Teachers of ethnic minority languages have the required training qualifications at the relevant educational level as stipulated in Article 72 of the Education Law 2019. In the absence of qualified teachers, individuals meeting the teaching conditions at the required level and possessing a certificate in teaching ethnic minority languages may be employed.

- Facilities for ethnic minority language classes are equipped like regular classes, meeting the requirements of the general education program. Teaching equipment for ethnic minority languages is provided according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training concerning the list of minimum teaching equipment for each ethnic minority language program.