Education in Vietnam
Population: 85 million people
Literacy Rate: ? %
GNP: USD ? per capita
Human Development Index: 0.?
Vietnam´s education system can be divided into 5 categories: pre-primary, primary, intermediate, secondary, and higher education.
Pre-primary education
Public kindergartens usually admit children from the age of 18 months to 5 years. Children at 4 or 5 years of age are sometimes taught ABC and basic math. This level of education is only popular in major cities (Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, etc.). Vietnamese education is often related in a metaphorical way to the hand of the giving. They are provided with opportunities that are not usually turned down but as the students become older there become less. As the student body drops only the elite pupils are left, these move on to college and often move into America to pursue a greater education.
Primary education
Children normally start their primary education at the age of six. Education at this level lasts 5 years and it is compulsory for all children. This compulsory education may be one of the reasons why, despite remaining a less developed country, the literate proportion of the country´s population is very high, over 90% on average.[citation needed]
Intermediate education
Middle schools teach students from grade 6 to 9. To graduate, they have to pass the Intermediate Graduation Examination presented by the local Department of Education and Training (which have been abolished in 2006). This educational level is generalized throughout most of the country--except in very remote provinces, which expect to popularize and standardize middle education fully within the next few years.
Secondary education
Students who pass the IGE are able to enroll in high school, which consists of grades 10, 11 and 12. Grade 12 students must pass the Secondary Graduation Examination to graduate. This educational level is generalized in all major urban regions, but is not uniform in rural provinces. It is also the most underfunded part of the state educational system. Due to a significant shortage of school facilities and teachers, many students only receive half-day schooling, either in a morning or afternoon session. These students often must rely on private professors to supplement course materials and keep pace with their school curriculum.
Higher education
University Entrance Examination is very important in Vietnamese students´ lives. High school graduates have to take it after the SGE and get high results to be admitted to universities. The pressure on the candidates remains very high despite the measures that have been taken to reduce the heat around these exams, since securing a place in a public university is considered a major step towards a successful career for young people, especially those from rural areas or disadvantaged families . In the year 2004, it was estimated that nearly 1 million Vietnamese students took the UEE, but on average only 1 out of 5 candidates succeeded. Normally, candidates take 3 exams, each lasts 180 minutes for the fixed group of subjects they choose. There are 4 fixed groups of subjects:
* Group A: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry;
* Group B: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry;
* Group C: Literature, History, Geography;
* Group D: Literature, Foreign Language, Mathematics;
Besides, there are also groups: H, M, N, R, T, V.
See List of universities in Vietnam. The largest is Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City which has over 35,000 students.
Most of Vietnam´s universities also offer Master (2 years) and Doctor (4 years) degrees.
In addition to universities, there are community colleges, art and technology institutes, professional secondary schools, and vocational schools which offers degrees / certificates from a-few-month to 2-year courses.
Private universities
According to Vietnam´s Ministry of Education and Training, there are currently 23 non-public universities, accounting for 11% of the total number of universities. These non-public universities are currently training 119,464 students, or 11.7% of the total number of students. The government is planning to increase the number of non-public universities to 30% by 2007.
Foreign educational institutions are increasingly open in Vietnam. Most of their fields are English language and information technology. Notably there is RMIT, which is currently the largest and only foreign university in Vietnam. The University of Hawaii has the longest working relationship with Vietnamese institutions of higher education in Vietnam after the war. UH President Simone signed the Memorandum of Undestanding in Can Tho in 1989. It was the first cooperation of an U.S. institution in VN. Since then, UH has exchanged numerous and specific projects with a number of institutions, in business (HCMC University of Technology, Hue Univeristy, Danang University, Thai Nguyen University, Can Tho University), tourism (Hue University and University of Tourism in HCMC), tropical agriculture (Can Tho University and Thai Nguyen University), public health (Vietnam National University in Hanoi), and Second Language Studies (Hanoi University of Foreign Studies), Library sciences (Hue University, Can Tho University, Danang University, Thai Nguyen University, National libraries) and I.T. (Danang University). Since 2002, The Shidler College of Business at UH Manoa is the only AACSB-accrediated Executive MBA program in Vietnam. It has programs in both metropoli -- Hanoi and HCMC. According to a survey conducted by Financial Times, Shidler´s graduates are handling one-fourth of Vietnam´s GDP. Shidler has offices in both locations.
As the second country after China with sustained economic growth during the first years of the 21st century, Vietnam is currently revisiting its education system. It recognized the increasing role of English as the language of business and the importance of international cooperation to help adapt the education system, notoriously slow in change management, to the rapid pace of its economy.
Running a foreign education in Vietnam is relatively challenging. Quality control and affordability are key issues, let alone the challenges related to dealing with a bureaucraty that is still figuring how to deal with the forces of change due to globalization.
Updated On: 15.02.09