Can Tho (VNA) – Khmer ethnic people in southernVietnam are set to benefit from more support in educational, training,cultural, medical and religious affairs in the future.

The Steering Committee for the SouthwesternRegion and the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs held aworkshop in Can Tho city on June 28 to review and set plans for Khmer-relatedworks in the southern region until 2020. The event was attended by officials ofthe boards of ethnic minority affairs in Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, An Giang and KienGiang provinces, Can Tho city and Ho Chi Minh City.

Huynh Thi Somaly, an official from the EthnicMinority Affairs Committee said there are about 1.3 million Khmer people in thesouth, accounting for 7 percent of the region’s population.

The Party and State have issued several policiessupporting the development of the ethnic group. They include Directive 68-CT/TWon works in Khmer ethnic areas issued by the Party Central Committee Secretariatin 1991, which resulted in improvements in local economic, social, security anddefence issues, she noted.

However, she also admitted shortcomings such asunsustainable poverty reduction, poor cultural and communication activities inthe Khmer language and difficulties in vocational training and job provision.

At the workshop, officials said Khmer-relatedworks should focus on solutions to develop socio-economic infrastructure,improve both material and spiritual life of Khmer people and raise the qualityof cultural, educational and medical activities. They need to sustainablyeliminate poverty so as to reduce the Khmer household poverty rate in the southby between 50 – 70 percent by 2020.

They said authorities in the southern region shouldpromote teaching and learning quality, provide incentives for Khmer students andteachers in Khmer communities and reduce or exempt tuition fees. They also needto maintain teaching of the Khmer language at schools in areas with large Khmerpopulations.

Vocational schools should be built acrosssouthern localities while local residents should be given financial support toenroll in vocational training.

Provinces and cities need to raise the numberand quality of Khmer-language media outlets, facilitate mass cultural andsports activities in the ethnic group and protect traditional cultural valuesand craft villages, participants said.

Medical services and health-relatedcommunications should be expanded in Khmer communities, they noted, underliningthe necessity to maintain traditional religions, restore Khmer Buddhistpagodas, visit religious dignitaries during traditional festivals and helpKhmer monks study in Vietnam and overseas.-VNA