Aloysius Mathews, from the International Union, pledged to push its members to exert influence on their own Governments to fulfil their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals in education by 2015.

Speaking at the four-day regional workshop, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Education and Training Dang Huynh Mai said that children in Vietnam, regardless of their ethnic identities, religions, family backgrounds, social positions or economic profiles, enjoy equal opportunities related to education.

The Vietnamese Government has extended special assistance to disadvantaged children, including those of ethnic minorities in remote areas, the disabled, Agent Orange victims and HIV carriers.

Vietnam has built 850 boarding schools at all levels for children from ethnic minority groups. School enrolment among ethnic minorities has increased, especially at the secondary educational level.

The number of disabled children sent to schools increased almost six-fold over the past nine years from 42,000 children in the 1996-1997 school year to 230,000 children in the 2004-2005 school year.