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VIETNAM 38 <br />accommodation, access to education, employment, health care, rehabilitation, <br />transportation, and vocational training. <br />The provision of services to persons with disabilities, although limited, improved <br />during the year. The Ministry of Transportation implemented accessibility codes <br />for public transportation facilities, trained transportation agency officials and <br />students on the use of the codes, and developed training materials for bus drivers to <br />assist individuals on and off buses. The government also put in place four <br />accessible bus routes in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang with accessible buses and <br />distributed free bus tickets (or reduced the fares for) 26,000 individuals in Hanoi <br />and Ho Chi Minh City. <br />Construction and major renovations of new government and large public buildings <br />are required to include access for persons with disabilities, but enforcement was <br />sporadic. New buildings and facilities in larger urban cities were built with ramps <br />and accessible entries. The Ministry of Construction maintained enforcement units <br />in the cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Danang, Quang Nam, and Ninh Binh to <br />enforce barrier -free codes and provided training on construction codes for <br />inspectors and architectural companies in more than 20 provinces during the year. <br />Access to education for children with disabilities, including blindness, deafness, <br />and mobility restrictions, was extremely limited. The law provides for preferential <br />treatment for firms that recruit persons with disabilities and for fines on firms that <br />do not meet minimum quotas that reserve 2 to 3 percent of their workforce for <br />workers with disabilities, but the government enforced these provisions unevenly. <br />Firms that have 51 percent of their employees with disabilities may qualify for <br />special government- subsidized loans. <br />The government respected the political and civil rights of persons with disabilities. <br />For example, by law ballot boxes may be and were brought to the homes of <br />individuals unable to go to a polling station. <br />The government supported the establishment of organizations aiding persons with <br />disabilities. Such persons were consulted in the development or review of national <br />programs, such as the national poverty reduction program, vocational laws, and <br />various educational policies. The National Coordination Committee on <br />Disabilities and its ministry members worked with domestic and foreign <br />organizations to provide protection, support, physical access, education, and <br />employment. The government operated a small network of rehabilitation centers <br />