Principals to take course on climate

The courses will be held annually by the National Institute of Education and Management's Centre for Researching and Training on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction with support from the Ha Noi-based United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).

Le Phuoc Minh, deputy director of the institute, said at the launch ceremony yesterday: "The centre is part of the attempt to implement the national strategy for disaster prevention and mitigation by 2020 for the education sector."

"Viet Nam is one of the countries most at risk from the effects of climate change, so coping with it is a common task for every person in our country," Minh said.

To start with, we will teach these leaders how to cope with climate change, and they will pass their knowledge on to teachers and students.

It should be a good way of effectively implementing the national strategy because there are millions of teachers and students in the country, he added.

Around 60 principals and educational managers completed pilot training courses in Ha Noi and Hue in 2010, he said.
Katherine Muller Marin, UNESCO chief representative in Viet Nam said that the organisation decided to support principals and managers of schools because they were the people who would help to create a network among teachers, students and parents.

According to UNESCO, education was an essential element of the global response to climate change. It helped people, especially, young people understand and address the impacts of global warming, encourage changes in their attitudes and behaviour and helped them adapt to climate change-related trends.