Solutions for the sustainable socio-economic development on Khmer community in the southern Vietnam

In the South, the socio-economic life of the Khmer people has recently improved and developed more than before. However, from the perspective of socio-economic development towards sustainability, it still reveals limitations and weaknesses such as poverty, disease, development of education - training employability and the living environment.

AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 SOLUTIONS FOR THE SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON KHMER COMMUNITY IN THE SOUTHERN VIETNAM Mai Phu Hop1 Can Tho University Information: Received: 26/09/2018 Accepted: 03/05/2019 Published: 11/2019 Keywords: Vietnam, Khmer people, barriers ABSTRACT Vietnam is a country with 54 ethnic groups and with different capacities for socio-economic development The majority of these ethnic minorities have many limitations in siad development Consequently, the State has supportive policies for these ethnic groups In the South, the socio-economic life of the Khmer people has recently improved and developed more than before However, from the perspective of socio-economic development towards sustainability, it still reveals limitations and weaknesses such as poverty, disease, development of education - training employability and the living environment In fact, it is very necessary to research and assess in a comprehensive way the causes of these challenges prior to proposing and recommending sustainable development solutions for the Khmer people in the South today INTRODUCTION pagoda not only plays an important role and position in religious life but also is the center of Khmer community and culture (Phan An, 2005) The history of formation and development of the southern region in particular and Vietnamese history in general shows that the Khmer people are an integral part of the Vietnamese multi-ethnic and multicultural community The Khmer people in the south have lived and developed with Kinh, Hoa, and Cham cultures In recent time they have shown their attachment and solidarity in life as well as in the fight against invaders to protect national independence and the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland Therefore, the Khmer culture has harmonized and integrated with other cultures in the South, contributing to the mosaic of a community of rich and deeply identifiable Vietnam The Khmer ethnic group in Vietnam has about 1.3 million people (Bùi Thị Ngọc Lan, 2014) They live mainly in the southern provinces of Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang and An Giang They are indigenous people and have been present for a long time in this land with rich customs, practices, festivals and highly appreciated, spiritual value of life The khmer livelihood is closely associated with wet-rice cultivation and many handicrafts Most of the Khmer people follow Therawada Buddism, a unique heritage of their culture This culture has its own nuances that cannot be mixed with any other ethnic group In their development process, the Khmer are influenced by the spirit of Buddhism and study Buddha's teachings and culture at pagodas before entering adult life The 68 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 In recent years, the Party and State have paid much attention to investing and supporting the southern region in many aspects, especially developing policies for the Khmer people The Party, local authorities and Khmer ethnic groups in the region have also made efforts to mobilize many resources for socio-economic development As a result, the poverty rate has significantly decreased, and the material and spiritual life has been gradually improved However, due to both subjective and objective factors, the long-term effectiveness of the support programs has been reduced: the number of poor households and diseases remains high, education for raising qualifications and the rate of trained employment is still limited and the shortage of residential and productive land still exists These are the limitations and weaknesses that greatly affect the socio-economic sustainable development of the Khmer ethnic group in the south in particular and the whole southern region in general Therefore, in order to contribute to the sustainable socioeconomic development of the Khmer ethnic group in the south, it is necessary to research and discover the limited causes so that there can be practical basis to propose radical solutions In particular, the concern for improving the material life must go hand in hand with the spiritual life; it is necessary to study specific factors of each locality in order to promulgate policies suitable to reality; unify the mechanism of funding allocation, policies for training human resources, policies for supporting the residential land and productive land, policies for attracting investment enterprises to create jobs, and policies for preserving traditional culture and human issues In the process of innovation, people are placed at the center, both a goal and a driving force of socio-economic development This is reflected in the fact that Vietnam's human development index is constantly improving Vietnam is a country with many ethnic groups, the ethnic groups in Vietnam are all citizens of a country, children in a house, their fortunes are closely intertwined in matters of natural subjugation as well as fighting foreign invaders Thoroughly grasping the Vietnamese view of Marxism-Leninism on the nation, President Ho Chi Minh initially set out the strategic orientation for ethnic policy in Vietnam which are solidarity, equality and support Ho Chi Minh said: “Our country is a unified nation with many ethnic groups All ethnic groups living in Vietnam are equal in rights and obligations” (Hồ Chí Minh, 2000) Inheriting and developing Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on ethnic issues and solidarity among ethnic groups, from the very beginning, the Communist Party of Vietnam has determined that ethnic work has a strategic significance in the revolutionary cause, promoting national unity is one of the important tasks in the process of national development And documents of the Party Congress before and after the renovation period all identify important positions of ethnic issues Due to the characteristics of the living area along with the characteristics of culture and customs, so the Party and State have issued and implemented many policies to support socio-economic development as well as preserve traditional culture to contribute to eliminating development gaps and living standards among ethnic groups, implementing social equality, implementing social security, raising people's intellectual standards, eradicating hunger and reducing poverty, and developing rural areas in a sustainable manner Currently, there are about 100 policies and documents on ethnic groups that have been implemented in the South Some typical programs such as: Program 134 and 135, preferential loans, THE ACHIEVEMENTS IN SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE KHMER COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM The highlight of Vietnam is that economic development achievements are always closely linked to human development achievements, economic growth is directed at addressing social 69 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 sedentarization, support for productive land and houses; National target programs on building new rural areas, eradicating hunger and reducing poverty Along with national target programs for ethnic minorities, the Secretariat, the Party Central Committee and the Government have also issued many Directives, Resolutions and Decisions such as: TTg dated 01 February 2008, Decision no 18/2011/QD-TTg dated 18 March 2011, Decision no 56/2013/QD-TTg dated 07 October 2013 of the Prime Minister; - Regarding reduction of land use fees for ethnic minorities in the Government's Decree no 45/2014/ND-CP dated 15 May 2014 Thoroughly grasping and implementing the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State in recent years has brought remarkable results: - Residential land and productive land support, jobs creation, borrowing capital to create jobs, develop production and daily-life water for poor ethnic minority households in Decision no 134/2004/QD- TTg dated 20 July 2004, Decision no 74/2008/QD-TTg dated 09 June 2008, Decision no 167/2008/QD-TTg dated 12 December 2008, Decision no 755/2013/QD -TTg dated 20 May 2013, Decision no 29/2013/QDTTg dated 20 May 2013 of the Prime Minister Resolution no 26-NQ-TW 2008 on Agriculture, farmers and rural areas; Resolution no 30a/2008/NQ-CP on supporting programs for quick and sustainable settlement of 61 poor districts of 20 provinces in the country; Firstly, regarding poverty reduction: The general living standard of the Khmer is improving as reflected by the rate of poor households decreasing from 40% in 2000 (Sơn Minh Thắng, 2017) to about 23% in 2017(Nguyễn Hữu Dũng, 2018) Secondly, vocational training, job creation, productive land support and capital investment, science and technology which have always been seen as the key solution for sustainable poverty reduction and also achieved certain results: Tens of thousands of unskilled labor are employed; a part of agricultural labor is converted to nonagricultural labor in factories, enterprises; many young workers are chosen to work abroad (Lê Thị Hằng, 2017); it has supported productive and residential land for 30,025 households (Nguyễn Hữu Dũng, 2018) - Regarding strengthening and developing the boarding school system for ethnic minorities in the 2011-2015 period in Decision no 1640/QD in 2011; - Regarding education, training and vocational development in Decision no 20/2006/QD-TTg dated 20 January 2006; the Prime Minister’s Decision no 1033/QD-TTg dated 30 June 2011; Thirdly, education - training: The school facilities and equipment in ethnic minority areas have been invested, created favorable conditions for teaching and learning The south currently has 31 boarding schools for ethnic minorities (9 provincial schools, 22 district schools, of which schools meet national standards) with more than 9,000 pupils attending; - Regarding the medical examination and treatment support for the poor at the Prime Minister's Decision no 139/2002/QD-TTg of dated 15 October 2002.; - Regarding the teaching and learning of voice and written languages of ethnic minorities in high schools and continuing education centers in Decision no 26/2008/QD-TTg dated 05 February 2008; Decree no 82/2010/ND-CP dated 15 July 2010 of the Government; The planning, training and retraining to develop a contingent of educational managers and teachers, especially Vietnamese - Khmer bilingual teachers are interested The contingent of educational managers and teachers who are Khmer is increasing (Hà Thị Khiết, 2018) (currently over - Promoting the role of prestigious people among ethnic minorities under Directive no 06/2008/CT70 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 17,000 civil servants, about 19,235 party members are ethnic) on a large scale, became an official festival in Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and Kien Giang provinces and Ngo boat races has been upgraded to a national sport Implementing Program no 135, phase 2, from 2006-2017 sent 21,493 students (Quang Minh, 2018) to higher education institutions, colleges, of which Khmer students accounted for 12.46% (Nguyệt Hà, 2013) and about 1,000 Khmer students take pre-university classes every year (Trịnh Xuân Thắng, 2014) Sixthly, about policies to support infrastructure investment, support housing, productive land for poor Khmer people: Implementing Decision no 167/2008/QD-TTg and Decision no 74/2008/QDTTg, supporting residential land under Decision no 134/2004/QD-TTg; In addition, it also provides clean water, electricity and kerosene to poor people Implementation of Program no 135, Phase II has achieved many remarkable results (Trịnh Xuân Thắng, 2014) Rate of literate people reached 73% (Phùng Đức Tùng, Nguyễn Việt Cường, Nguyễn Cao Thịnh, Nguyễn Thị Nhung & Tạ Thị Khánh Vân, 2017), the universalization of secondary education is always promoted, maintained well the primary education universalization The teaching and learning of ethnic languages is always maintained and developed, currently, the Ministry of Education and Training has implemented the program and textbook of Khmer literature under the new program In summary: Through the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State for the Khmer population, authorities and functional branches of the southern region are interested in deploying and implementing it in the right time and right subjects As a result, the face is increasingly innovative, material and spiritual life is significantly improved Fourthly, about health: There have been great developments in repelling many diseases Consequently, the quality of life has been improved The grassroots health network has been constantly strengthened and improved, all communes and wards with the majority of Khmer people have medical stations, 100% of medical stations have nurses, many of them have doctors Poor households are granted insurance books with a total budget of more than 833.4 billion VND under Decision no 139/2002/QD-TTg, the regime of free medical examination and treatment for children under years of age is strictly implemented Maternal and child health care is being increasingly strengthened (Lê Thị Hằng, 2017) THE LIMITATIONS IN SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF KHMER COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM The achievements in socio-economic development of the Khmer ethnic group in recent years are worthy of recognition, but these achievements are still not commensurate with the State's investment and the striving of the Khmer people themselves, that result is not sustainable And it still reveals many following limitations: Firstly, although the poverty rate has decreased, it is still very high (23% in 2017 (Nguyễn Hữu Dũng, 2018), and it is also worth noting that the status of escaping from poverty is still unsustainable, currently 10.3% of near-poor households (Phùng Đức Tùng cs, 2017), because for the Khmer people in the south, agriculture is the main income source and they mainly cultivate wet-rice currently more than 70% of the population participate in (Nguyễn Minh Sang, 2016) However, this agricultural Fifly, about preserving the traditional culture: Regional and provincial radio, television, newspapers have their own sections in Khmer language; many types of arts and traditional festivals are honored and promoted Particularly, OK Om Bok Festival, including Ngo boat race, folk games activities organized by the provinces 71 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 technique is still fragmented and small scale with the linkage between people, between people and business and academia scientists are still weak Consequently, production status is spontaneous and fluent Raising and growing crops is an extra job, it is not a commodity production In addition, the qualifications are till limited and the application of scientific and technical achievements to production is still difficult; lack of advanced equipment, machines and techniques to develop production, improve labor productivity and agricultural production, which is exposed to both weather and market risks; the number of people living on agriculture but having little or no productive land is still quite large; limitation in common language is also one of the causes creating difficulties in acquiring science and technology, capturing the market; there are not many popular programs in the Khmer language, especially in the transfer of agricultural science and technology and market information At the same time, the Khmer people have a very rich and unique festive system, but these festivals last for days and have interrupted production Moreover, they are more in favor of the spiritual life than the physical life, this has positive aspects, but because considering real life is temporary and always looking to the future is Nirvana, it has partly influenced the will and efforts to get rich and international integration (currently only 3% of workers have been trained) Report at the conference "Publication of research reports and consultation of vocational training guidance framework for rural workers" organized by Oxfam in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on 29 November 2016 in Hanoi) Along with that is the economic growth rate, agriculture, forestry and fishery production in recent years has encountered difficulties; investment activities of enterprises in ethnic minority areas are not active; The implementation of policy contents among managing units is not yet synchronized: For example, supporting the production land under Decision no 74/2008/QD-TTg and Decision no 29/2013/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, the state budget is granted, but loans from the social policy banks were slowly and sparsely disbursed, so people cannot concentrate capital to buy land Many households use capital for improper purposes As a result, poor households have not escaped from poverty On the other hand, the price of land support is much lower than the market price, in many localities, the location of the production land for people are unfavorable, poor infrastructure conditions such as lack of electricity, water, poor fertility Thirdly, About education - training: At present, only 73% of the population are literate, the number of illiterate people aged 15 and over accounts for 8.1% (nationwide is 6%), especially for the Khmer people aged 15 and older, the illiterate rate accounts for 25.6% (the rate of ethnic minorities aged 15 and older who are illiterate in the whole country accounts for 21.5%) The network of schools, classes, and equipment for teaching and learning in some ethnic minority areas is still inadequate, and the percentage of schools meeting national standards is only 19% (Lê Thị Hằng, 2017) Up to 90% of Khmer people live in rural, remote and isolated areas, especially difficult areas, with only a small part living in urban areas, among about 500 Secondly, vocational training, job creation, productive land support and capital investment, science and technology have always been seen as a key task for sustainable poverty reduction despite achieving certain results, but: Due to the low starting point, life is still very hard, so the implementation of some policies is also difficult such as low educational level and language barrier (other barriers make it difficult for training to meet the employment needs of both domestic and foreign employers), the birth rate in some localities is still high, backward customs and practices make it difficult to absorb modern science and technology, and they not meet the requirements of industrialization, modernization 72 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 communes and wards with a large number of people living there, there are 321 difficult communes and 163 extremely difficult communes Due to the difficult life, for many families, sending children to school is not a priority Therefore, many children not go to school or go to school late Besides, the implementation of policies on exemption and reduction of tuition fees and support of study costs for ethnic minority students in some localities is not consistent; language barrier also makes it difficult to implement education and training policies In addition to being active in education at pagodas, but due to the lack of updated curriculum, especially pedagogical skills, the teaching methods of many monks are limited, the shortage of Khmer and vocational teachers for many years has not been overcome, so the training and vocational training are still ineffective The input quality of the nominated students is still low, the training majors are not suitable to the local needs, the job creation for graduates after graduation is still inadequate, some nominated students did not return to the locality to serve have been narrowed, making room for new cultural elements of modern society, along with the invading foreign cultural elements that have greatly influenced the traditional culture The activities of Khmer Theravada Buddhism and the Solidary Association of Patriotic Monks have made much progress, but there are still some difficulties and shortcomings that need to be attended to, especially in Buddhism and teaching, learning work under the educational and training system of Khmer Theravada Buddhism; Cultural publications in the Khmer language are not with high quality, the form is still poor The amount of radio time and television broadcast in Khmer language has not met the requirements of propaganda and the need for cultural enjoyment of the people The situation of constructing and repairing worshiping facilities without government permission or carrying out wrong licenses still occurs in some localities Sixth, regarding policies to support investment in infrastructure and housing support: the south in general and the Khmer ethnic group region in particular still has difficulties and challenges that need to be solved Socio-economic infrastructure, especially transport works, irrigation works, antisaline intrusion and anti-landslides have not yet met the development requirements Many localities lack land fund allocated for people to settle down Fourthly, health care has made progress: However, there is still a portion of the Khmer people who are in phum and commune facing economic difficulties, having backward living habits, and lack of access to modern health services Since then, the issue of health care for themselves, especially children, has not been a focus of the ethnic minorities Most children in disadvantaged areas are still suffering from diseases such as motor malformation, heart disease, rickets and developmental delays (Hữu Thọ, 2017) The crude death rate was 6.69%, the under-1 mortality rate was 15.94%, the under-5 mortality rate was 23.97%, the rate of using health insurance was only 47.8 % (Phùng Đức Tùng et al, 2017) In addition to the above difficulties, in recent years, the great challenges of climate change, sea level rise, and severe drought have made Khmer people's lives difficult and there are still complicated developments of land disputes in rural areas Migration is quite strong among Khmer people today, making the labor shortage, difficult and has complicated life in the places they‘ve migrated to Along with that, the perception of some party committees and authorities on ethnic affairs is limited so the interest in directing the implementation of guidelines and policies is not adequate; guiding documents of ministries and central agencies are Fifthly, on preserving the traditional culture: The traditional Khmer culture of the south is facing the challenge of a new development period because the previous socio-economic facilities 73 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 overlapping and slow to deploy so localities are still confused in mobilizing resources Poverty reduction policies should limit the current direct subsidy and pay attention to promoting internal resources to combat poverty of the people, which are sustainable and must be placed in the systematic manner such as: improve people's intellectual standards, labor training and job creation, the ability to apply science and technology in production, on land relations Especially, the State needs to have mechanisms and policies to support the development of traditional occupations (capital, vocational training, application of technological advances to improve traditional technologies) such as brocade weaving and carpentry (sculpture , carving, building boats, making traditional musical instruments), mat weaving, pottery making, knitting, making jaggery, making green rice flakes to help create jobs, increasing incomes for a part of the poor, at the same time preserving the unique cultural values of ethnic minorities PROPOSING FOR THE SOLUTIONS SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON KHMER COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM Over the years of renovation, there have been many specific policies and programs to help people escape poverty, deep attention of local governments; the Khmer people themselves are gentle, industrious and hard-working However, the socio-economy of the people still faces many difficulties: the rate of poor households is high, the gap between rich and poor still increases, and in particular, the rate of falling back into poverty is very high This situation greatly affects the goal of sustainable socio-economic development, not only for ethnic groups, but also for the South This is not only a socio-economic issue but also a political issue in the Party's ethnic policy, if it is not solved in a radical way, the consequences will also affect the great unity bloc of the nation, leading to the ethnic conflict in the area where the Khmer people live, which is the basis for foreign reactionary political organizations, Khmer Krom groups and opposition political parties in Cambodia to take advantage of and distort and involve Khmer people in the provinces to participate, destabilizing political security, national security and defense in the South, domestic and foreign policies of Vietnam in the current international context Therefore, the socioeconomic sustainable development of the Khmer ethnic group in the South is an important task, which is also the basis associated with the region's long-term development strategy, an urgent requirement in the Vietnam's socio-economic context with many complicated changes Therefore, the author needs to focus more on the following synchronization solutions: Poverty reduction policies for Khmer people must be compatible with psychological, cultural and customs characteristics The Khmer people are mostly in agricultural production so policies support the production of commodity agriculture, with comprehensive productivity and quality from capital, technology and consumption markets Partly due to backward customs and practices, local authorities need to coordinate closely with the mobilization effectively to raise their awareness to become rich, consciously raise the level, eliminate backward production practices, actively study the application of production science and technology Secondly, the solution of developing vocational training to create jobs for Khmer ethnic people: The Party, the State, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and the authorities of the provinces and cities inhabited by the Khmer people need to focus on addressing hot spots of land and poverty Develop and replicate models of poverty reduction and individuals with economic success; develop industrial plants in accordance with local Firstly, hunger eradication and poverty reduction for Khmer ethnic group must be in a sustainable manner: 74 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 practices to solve local jobs and restrict migration; there should be a suitable policy on loans and land support; have vocational training suitable to the social and specific needs of Khmer people so that young people can have a career and development, equip scientific and technical knowledge to apply in production and spread information so that Khmer people in remote areas can access to Besides, it is necessary to have a career guidance that meets the social needs so that Khmer students in colleges and universities not fall into unemployment after graduation vocational training for rural laborers up to 2020 under the Decision No.1956/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated 27 November 2009 Encourage Khmer laborers to participate in vocational training through effective economic models, point production models; guide them to follow, focus on quick-income-generating models to help solve the living needs so that they can be comfortable to learn Propose the State for training institutions to participate in prequalification, consultancy and orientation of professional personnel in order to select high-quality recruitment sources for the election system to meet the requirements of socioeconomic development in the locality and the region; It is necessary to raise the prescribed level to be eligible to be sent for enrollment to the school compared to the current regulations; The localities, when sending students to school, should pay attention to the fields and branches with particular nature of locality to serve the socioeconomic development of the locality or the fields which are in need of people; serious consideration should be given to the registration of fields which are too difficult or currently saturated (such as pedagogy and economics); It is necessary to attach the responsibility of the locality in sending people to go to school and receiving students returning to the locality after graduation Thirdly, the solution of education and training development for Khmer people: It is necessary to train and improve the management qualifications and knowledge for officials of the Khmer ethnic group areas in the Southern provinces Associated with social sustainable development are the fields of study: Anthropology, Sociology, Social Work, Public Health, Community Development, to be able to easily grasp the needs and practical life of citizens, advise and develop specific measures for local authorities Promote solidification of schools and classes; build boarding ethnic group schools in districts with a large number of Khmer people; implement quality curricula and textbooks of ethnic group languages at primary and secondary schools; continue to support textbooks and notebooks for ethnic children of poor households in extremely difficult communes; exempt and reduce school fees for ethnic children currently studying at vocational schools, high schools, colleges and universities; well implement high school education universalization program among Khmer people Fourthly, solutions for development and health care for Khmer people: Continue to strengthen and complete the grassroots health network according to Directive No.06 CT-TW of the Central Secretariat Committee, upgrade the hospital system to serve the needs of medical examination and treatment of the people, support money for social subjects, for the poor and near-poor It is necessary to strengthen training and development of health human resources for the region, which is a key step to improve the quality of health services It includes both quantity and quality in all areas: Both universal and intensive health (high-tech Promote the socialization of education, mobilize organizations and unions to support poor households' children to go to school in various forms: Support with scholarships, learning tools, books, notebooks and transport vehicles Continue effectively implementing the Scheme on 75 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 health), both preventive and curative, professional and managerial Thus, step by step, the South will ensure sufficient quantity and quality of officials serving the people And training health workers who are ethnic people should also be focused on funding for embellishment protection, restoration and Sixthly, on policies to support investment in infrastructure in areas of Khmer ethnic group: Although the Party, the State and all levels of authority have paid attention to the development of the South in general and the areas with large number of Khmer ethnic group in particular, it is fair to say that the investment in this area is small and not commensurate with its potential (including both state and private investment) Therefore, it is necessary to seriously implement infrastructure development policies such as: For transport according to the Prime Minister's Decision No.638/QD-TTg dated 28 April 2011 of the Prime Minister, in which especially paying attention to building a regional infrastructure system with a high concentration of Khmer people Deploy and implement well the irrigation development policy for the period of 2012-2020 and orientations to 2050 in the context of climate change and sea level rise under Decision No.1397/QD-TTg dated 25 September 2012 of Prime Minister Particularly focus on developing the network of irrigation systems in service of agricultural production of Khmer people Fifthly, the solution to preserve traditional Khmer ethnic culture: It is proposed that the State continues issuing policies and undertakings related to the cultural, material and spiritual life of the Khmer people in the South such as: Establishing a College specializing in training Khmer art and culture (in the region, there is only Soc Trang Intermediate School of Culture and Arts, faculty of Khmer Language - Culture - Arts of the South of Tra Vinh University) aims to train professional officials to ensure the maintenance of the culture and art of Khmer people; increase the amount of radio, program content, and television time in the Khmer language, contributing to ensuring the cultural and spiritual needs of the Khmer people, ensuring propaganda of the Party and State's guidelines and policies quickly, timely, accurately and effectively Local authorities and mass organizations need to strengthen propaganda and mobilize people to uphold cultural, historical and traditional values of ethnic minorities to create consensus, support and increase the belief of the people for the Party and the State, promoting the great unity of ethnic groups In particular, the party committees and authorities must always listen to and receive the comments of officials, intellectuals and prestigious people of ethnic minorities in order to have timely information to serve leadership direction work for good implementation of policies for ethnic group people Localities need to pay attention to promote cultural-based economic models (typically tourism combined with the handicrafts of ethnic group people) For Khmer Theravada Buddhist Pagodas, which are national and provincial cultural and historical relics, it is necessary to have policies to support The central government needs to pay attention to timely allocation of capital to implement Decision No.755/QD-TTg to support living water for poor Khmer households in many localities; For Program 135, it is proposed that the Committee for Ethnic Affairs, the ministries and central branches have specific mechanisms for each locality and shorten procedures in the implementation of infrastructure development projects; issue manual specific instructions for the implementation of the phases Climate change is threatening the sustainable development of the South, so the State needs adjustments to re-plan the regions and sub-regions and, based on that plan, design a comprehensive project to make economic change, livelihood transformation for people in the region Gladly, in 76 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (2), 68 – 78 2017, the Government issued Resolution No.120/NQ-CP on sustainable development of the Mekong Delta to adapt to climate change This is the basis for implementing many programs and activities of the Government to promote sustainable development in the Mekong Delta However, in order to carry out, the Party and the State need to pay attention and direct resolutely with the efforts of the Party committees and the local people http://tapchimattran.vn/nghien-cuu/phat-huytruyen-thong-doan-ket-yeu-nuoc-cua-dongbao-khmer-nam-bo-trong-cong-cuoc-xaydung-va-bao-ve-to-quoc-12024.html Nguyet Ha (2013), Difficulties on the way of university admission without entrance exam Online Newspaper of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Retrieved from http://baochinhphu.vn/Doi-moi-giao-ducdao-tao/Gian-nan-con-duong-cutuyen/180677.vgp CONCLUSION Development of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas in general and for Khmer people in the South in particular is one of the tasks that are always prioritized by the Party and State And, with the efforts of the people, the socio-economic situation has made significant progress However, due to the objective and subjective factors, sustainable development faces many difficulties Therefore, for the sustainable socio-economic development of the Khmer people in the South, 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Retrieved from Phung Duc Tung, Nguyen Viet Cuong, Nguyen Cao Thinh, Nguyen Thi Nhung & Ta Thi Khanh Van (2017) Overview of the socioeconomic situation of 53 ethnic minorities United Nations Development Programme , Ha Noi http://baobaclieu.vn/y-te-suc-khoe/cham-socsuc-khoe-tre-em-vung-co-dong-dong-bao-dantoc-khmer-nhieu-viec-lam-thiet-thuc35741.html 78 ... preserving the unique cultural values of ethnic minorities PROPOSING FOR THE SOLUTIONS SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON KHMER COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM Over the years of renovation, there... Regarding strengthening and developing the boarding school system for ethnic minorities in the 2011-2015 period in Decision no 1640/QD in 2011; - Regarding education, training and vocational development. .. exists These are the limitations and weaknesses that greatly affect the socio-economic sustainable development of the Khmer ethnic group in the south in particular and the whole southern region in