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Education in Vietnam - an Overview from 1945 – 9/2007
[12/10/2007 - Author: admin1 - Vietnam Review]
Giao Ngoc Le
Fairfax, Virginia
13-10-2007
©Vietnam Review
In the traditional Vietnamese culture, scholars and education have always been respected as the most valuable asset of the country.
Since 1945, education in Vietnam has gone through many changes. From 1954-1975, while North Vietnam’s education followed the communist ideology, South Viet Nam had established an education system based on the free world’s standards. Many Vietnamese refugees who fled Viet Nam after 1975 have been able to continue their education very successfully in foreign countries. There are approximately 300,000 Vietnamese overseas who have completed higher education, with master and doctorate degrees. Many of these intellectuals have become world acclaimed scientists with respectable innovation such as Dr. Nguyêt Anh Duong with the Thermo baric weapon [1] or Dr. Le thi Duong who contributed in the invention of Fosamax [2].
On the contrary, since 1975, education inside Vietnam had taken a downgraded turn with only 2% of its population having more than 12 yrs of education by 2006 [3]
The two phases that had caused severe long term damage to the intellectual class of Vietnam happened right after the Communist took control of the people: North Vietnam in 1955-1956 (The Nhân Văn Affair) [4] and South Vietnam in 1975-1985 (Re-education period for all South Vietnamese intellects): the intellectual middle class in Vietnam was almost erased and independent thinking was not allowed.
As Vietnam is on its way to enter the global market, the question looms large: it lacks the human infrastructure. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyên Thiên Nhan who also is the Minister of Education and Training, on August 28, 2007 emphasized the case of a Taiwanese Company opening two factories in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh with a demand for 300,000 engineers and technicians that Viet Nam was unable to provide. The company ended up having to train their workers outside of Viet Nạm. [5]
As the world is coming to Vietnam for investment, the question becomes more puzzled: corruption happens everywhere, at every level [6]. On August 16, 2007, Intel required the Vietnamese officials to sign an agreement enforcing its principles of non-tolerance to corruptions prior to starting its investment in Viet Nam [7].
More than just knowledge, integrity and characters rebuilding can challenge the most experienced educators. Education in Vietnam is in crisis. The centrally-planned-core-curricula to only serve the communist party have proven disastrous in the global arena.
In a report for APEC 2006, Dr. Loc Nguyen of the Ministry of Education and Training stated that until early 1990s, education in Vietnam still served the centrally planned economy, thus it suffered a very difficult transitional period to a market oriented society [8].
Dr. Hai Tran explained that the central party’s total control has impeded any possible innovation of an individual, and the parallel systems of which the party always having absolute power created disruptions and corruptions [9].
In the early 1990s, UNESCO had worked with MOET to identify the problems with the Vietnamese educational system as following:
- Decrease in quantity and quality of education at all levels
- Weak links between technical and vocational training with production and employment.
- Weaknesses in teaching and learning school mapping and research in higher education.
- Weak teaching staff.
- Shortage and ineffective utilization of resources for education and training
- Irrelevance of the structure, management and legislation of education and training
- Irrelevance of education and training in the transition period
Researchers had named this a phase of “degradation or deterioration of education in Vietnam” [10]
A total education renovation policy was introduced. Two main ideas were proposed to rectify the problems with central planning:
1- Implementation of “socialization” of education
2 - Democratization of education.
Along with the change in policy, Vietnam also allowed development of semi-public, private, and people-funded school in addition to public ones.
MOET wrote in its report for APEC 2006 that: “The purpose of this policy is to create favorable conditions for all people to participate in managing education, overcoming the existing authoritarianism in the management of education” [11]
With the support of the United Nations, the World Bank, the United States, and other concerned nations, since 1999, education in Vietnam has begun to take on reforming projects [12] toward a market oriented but still under socialist direction.
The term “socialization education” was coined. This concept originated from the efforts to decentralize the central control of the party, since it has proven not effective. The idea was proposed for higher education only, to allow universities the autonomy in management and finance [13]. This allowed foreign institutions to directly support higher education academically and financially.
However, the implementation of this concept was taken much farther to all educational levels, including primary, intermediate, and secondary. In addition, the implementation became a totally different concept: the central party still controls the management and core curriculum, only the financial burden was decentralized, as written in the official website of the Ministry of Education and Training on October 2, 2006:
“d) To increase the leadership of Party in education. Party Committees from central to local levels should guide and regularly control the implementation of education policies, especially of social participation in education, political and ideological education, the establishment of order, discipline, should consider the development and increase of education quality as an indicator in building the transparent and strong Party unit. To accept more Party members, to strengthen and consolidate Party organization, to make it the nuclear of leadership in schools.”[14]
After nearly two decades of reform, the legacy of central planning and socialist bureaucracy is still extensive. [15] Dr. Le Dang Doanh – former Minister of Economy – remarked to the Political Politburo on February 2004 that “The Party is everywhere, controls everything, in parallel with the administrative system…” thus “there was no one accountable for anything … The system became very costly but ineffective” [16].
This costly governmental system coupled with slow economic growth drained the national budget and divert funds from basic services like health and education.
In an attempt to decentralize the financial burden, Vietnam has required all students to pay tuition [17]. On September 11/ 2007, Viet Nam Express reported that officially each student pays up to VND $4,000,000.00 per school year, but the real educational expenses can add up to VND$13,000,000.00 per student. [18] The United Nations’ Report of the MDGs’ Social Economic Development Programs in Viet Nam observed that the tuition has changed education into a “service per payment” and has created great inequalities among the rich and the poor. The United Nations report pointed out that in average, a rich family could pay 4 times more and thus the rich student could receive better quality in private classes. As a result, only rich students have the opportunities to enter secondary and post secondary education. [19]
A recent article from Far Eastern Economic Review in September 2007, by Jago Penrose, Jonathan Pincus and Scott Cheshier, explained this term as “political benefits are privatized, economic costs are socialized.” [20] The article also pointed out the possible cause for delays in Vietnam’s educational reforms: “… opposing forces, emanating from within the government and party apparatus and economic interests under or allied to sections of the party and state, can be counted on to defend the status quo …” [21]
In a speech on August 6, 2007, former US Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Marine remarked: “The fundamental role of universities is to provide socially and economically beneficial education, and to generate knowledge and innovation. By all accounts, Vietnamese universities are failing to fulfill these critical obligations.” [22]
Despite all reforming efforts since 1986, the most recent World Development Report 2006 by the World Bank cited that Vietnam only has 2% of its population having more than 12yrs in school, about 89% reached 5th grade education, and only 10% of the students with more than 12 yrs schooling are in universities. In 2006, while Seoul University produced 4556 publications, Peking University had almost 3000; both Vietnam National University and Hanoi University of Technology only came up with 34 scientific publications. Compare to 40,000 applications for patent in China, Vietnam only had two [23].
On September 14, 2007, an article on VietNam Net by Bao Anh reported concerns of Vietnamese educators about the effectiveness of the “School for talented students” (Truong Chuyen) established by the Communist Party for the last 42 years. Students graduated from this program showed only specialized knowledge in a narrow field, having no creativities, no innovation, and lack of general knowledge. [24]
In 2007, high school education also faced the reality of only 66.7% students passed their high school graduation exams [25]. 400,000 students had to be reabsorbed back to the system which is already under strain. 600,000 students failed the University Entrance Exam. [26]
The United Nations reported 96% students entered 1st grade, but only 89% continued up to 5th grade.[27] With the current policy called “socialization in education”, where students of all grades have to pay their own tuition, many parents voiced concern that they cannot keep up with the pace of tuition increase. Professor Hoang Tuy, former Dean of the Mathematics Department in Vietnam, remarked that this was an irresponsible formula which the communist government used to force the financing burden of education onto its people. He pointed out that the Vietnamese people have already been sharing 40% of this burden, while in other countries, the most the people have to put in education is only 20%. [28] Professor Hoang Tuy believed that the education budget can be readjusted to cover free tuition for all students grade 1st to 12 if the government cut down on all wasteful spending and stop corruptions from its officers. [29]
On August 31, 2007, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan announced that tuition will definitely be increased in the school year 2008 – 2009 [30]. A recent study by Dr. Vu Quang Viet - Chief of National Accounts Section, United Nations Statistics Division - pointed out that with this pace, 60% of Vietnamese students will be forced out of school [31]. This clearly defined that chances for education in Vietnam today based more on money and power. Equal opportunities to obtain education for school age students nationwide are yet to be reached.
The United Nations recommended free education for all children at least through primary level [32].
The World Bank, in its 2006 World Development Report, emphasized the importance between equity and development, that: “it (inequality) leads to an inefficient use of resources and to less effective institutions, inequity is inimical to long-term development.” [33]
On September 5, 2007, General Vo Nguyen Giap publicly announced his concerns with the current state of education in Vietnam, which he perceived as: “has fallen way behind neighboring countries”. General Giap, in a study with a group of Vietnamese educators and scientists, has proposed assessment and solutions for education in Vietnam [34]
Many of the facts and ideas presented by General Giap had been pointed out, debated, with proposed solutions since the early 1990s by a study of UNESCO with MOET [35], 2002 by Pham Minh Hac [36], 2006 by a study conducted through VEF [37], and clearly written on the website of the Ministry of Education and Training, English version, dated October 2, 2006 [38].
On this official website, the Ministry of Education and Training pointed out the main causes for its infective efforts to change: “The delays in the reform of state administration, in the renovation of economic management, finance management, labour utilization and salary policy, etc., are the factors that hamper the effective solution of education issues,” [39]
The MOET website also remarked “the ethics of certain managers and teachers have degraded” [40] Unqualified teachers with no moral standards had caused a lot of sexual and behavioral scandals in schools nationwide. Corruptions happen at every level of the educational system have eroded the people’s confidence in the traditional scholastic values [41]
Many parents would rather send their children abroad to obtain education, regardless of how much the financial burden could be. A minimal of USD$30,000.00/ year is the average price to ensure the student be placed in a foreign college or university by private consulting services. An estimated amount of 20,000 students are studying abroad each year on institutional scholarships or through their own finances.
It has become a major area of concern with the ability to track and monitor those students. Scandals in this area are regrettably common.
Another area of major concern relates to the status of students abroad both as to the return of the students to Vietnam following the completion of their coursework abroad as well as the quality of the programs they are pursuing.
There has been a gradual understanding that many students may have disincentives to return home because they will be underpaid or the management style of the entities to which they return will not permit them to use the skills they have acquired abroad. [42]
The real signs of change come not without conflicts. Many young intellects after having received education abroad began to question the communist ideology and the one party totalitarian regime. Among them are Nguyễn Tiến Trung [43], Nguyễn Hoàng Lan [44], Lê Quốc Quân, [45] Nguyễn Văn Đài [46] who have become activists for human rights in Vietnam and are considered oppositions to the government. Lê Quốc Quân and Nguyễn Văn Đài have both served jail terms for their belief in human rights. Quân was released prior to the visit of Nguyễn Minh Triết to Washington. Đài is still serving jail term. The young intellectuals at home who dare to dream of democracy and freedom also encountered many hardships. Lawyer Lê thị Công Nhân [47], writer Trần Khải Thanh Thủy [48], Dr. Lê Nguyên Sang [49], writer Trương Minh Đức [50], writer Đặng Hùng [51], …, and many others are all being imprisoned for advocating equalities and human rights.
Viet Nam is contradicting itself in turning against its own new class of intellectuals because they dare to exercise their rights to freedom of speech and their independent thinking. One can see the pattern of Nhan Van and Giai Pham Affair in 1955 being repeated in 2007.
There is an obvious correlation between Vietnam’s disregarding of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and Vietnam’s lack of human infrastructure with a huge need for intellectuals.
Jonathan E London, in his writing for Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Vol. 26, No.1, May 2006, observed that educational reforms in Viet Nam happened passively to catch up with the changes in its economic demands and thus was not a real reform of the whole system, creating a lot more new problems and inequalities. [52]
In October, 2007 The Ministry of Education and Training is planning to host a conference about “Philosophy in Education” to find the real solutions for the educational dilemma. [53]
On January 26, 2007, Mr. Pham Hoang Hai has already offered his view: The immediate change needed is to stop the monopoly of power that created special treatments for a small group of people resulting in inequalities and hamper the real reforms of education. [54].
To put in perspective, education in Vietnam is confronting multiple challenges due to the central control dual systems between the Party and the government without any accountability resulting in:
1. Poor planning and budgeting with wasteful use of money and resources for education
2. Inequalities in opportunity to obtain education for majority of students.
3. Lack of independent thinking for innovation ideas.
4. Lack of integrity due to the corrupted system.
5. The public has no confidence in the education system.
In reality, the practical challenges are:
1- Ineffective educational reform efforts due to delays in reform of the state administration and government officials. Decentralization has not been implemented in its real essence, thus hamper the reforms. Transparency is needed in the accounting of MOET.
2 - Inequalities for basic education nationwide with the “socialization education” policy.
3 - Ineffective educational programs.
4 - Ineffective teaching staffs with shortage of teachers.
5 -Lack of integrity, low moral, degraded ethics, no concepts of accountability among management groups and teachers.
Recommendations:
The Vietnamese government would be in a more advantage position if the following suggestions are followed:
1/ The Vietnamese government would carry out immediate reforms of the state administration and government officials to its proposed goals of decentralization and democratization:
- Adapting and honoring the principles suggested by the United Nations, the World Bank, and ASEAN. Implementing the global values of human rights, civil rights, equal opportunities and justice for all and reflecting these values in the core educational programs at all levels. Release all intellectuals that was convicted for advocating the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
- Streamline the educational administrative system to allow only the professional educators the autonomy needed to improve pedagogy. This streamline should also cut down corruptions and enable the system to relocate their budget to be more educational focus.
2/ Free education for 1st – 12 grade to reduce inequalities.
3/ Raise teachers’ salary and benefits to a comfortable, compatible level to reduce corruptions and increase motivation. Offer frequent retraining and in-services to teachers.
4/ Implement renovated educational programs that focus on independent thinking and characters building as proposed by UNESCO in 1994 and VEF in 2006.
5/ Work with the Vietnamese Overseas Task Forces in developing educational supporting programs to help with the Vietnamese students abroad as well as updating the curricula to international standards.
If Vietnam follows the above suggestions, it will gain the support of the Vietnamese overseas to assist in the development of Vietnam. This will in turn give Vietnam substantial changes in human infrastructure to compete with the growing market in Southeast Asia.
The real winners would be the Vietnamese people who would benefit from a sound education that they will be very proud of for generations to come.
Footnotes:
[1] Nguyêt Anh Duong, PhD., and the Thermo baric weapon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyet_Anh_Duong
[2] Le Thi Duong, PhD. and Fosamax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alendronate
[3] World Development Report 2006
[4] “The Nhân Văn Affair” - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nh%C3%A2n_V%C4%83n_Affair
[5] VietNam Net – 2007/08/28 – Ha Anh & Kiêu Oanh - “Pho Thu Tuong doc giang tai lop hoc hieu truong”
[6] Transparency International – Vietnam_NIS_2006-pdf pg 11
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2007/nis_in_east_and_southeast_asia#pr
[7] SBTN – Intel refused to tolerate corruptions in its company in Viet Nam
http://www.sbtn.net/?catid=193&newsid=21790&pid=157
[8] MOET - Nguyen Loc, PhD, Assoc. Prof – Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period. PDF - APEC2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[9] Tran Hai, PhD – Education in Vietnam – VSG report, 09/2007.
[10] MOET - Nguyen Loc, PhD, Assoc. Prof – Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period. PDF - APEC2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[11] Ibid, pg 4.
[12] MOET- Vietnam’s educational reform projects since 1999 – http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=1.1
[13] MOET - Nguyen Loc, PhD, Assoc. Prof – Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period. PDF – APEC2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[14] MOET – Solutions for Education Development – 5.3 (d) - 2006 http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.4&view=3461
[15] Transparency International - Vietnam_NIS_2006.pdf. pg 10
[16] Le Dang Doanh’s Speech in front of the Communist Political Politburo – on February 11, 2004 .
http://www.thienlybuutoa.org/Misc/LeDangDoanh.htm
[17] MOET – Solutions for Education Development – 5.3 (d) - 2006 http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.4&view=3461
[18] VNExpress, 2007/09/11 - Tiên Dung & Lan Huong: “Phu huynh oan lung voi cac khoan phi dau nam” - http://www.vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Xa-hoi/2007/09/3B9FA104/
[19] The United Nations – MDGs’ Social Economic Development Programs for Viet Nam 2006-2010, pg 6. http://www.un.org.vn/undocs/sedp/mdgsedpv.pdf
[20] Far Eastern Economic Review, September 2007, Vietnam: Beyond Fish and Ships-
by Jago Penrose, Jonathan Pincus and Scott Cheshier.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ambassador Michael W. Marine - “Challenges of Higher Education in Vietnam: Possible Roles for the United States” – Speech on 08/06/2007 at the University of Hawaii’s Shadier College of Business Executive MBA Program Ho Chi Minh City
[23] WDR 2006
[24] VietNam Net, 2007/09/14 – Bao Anh – “Truong chuyen: Tao nhan tai hay luyen ga noi?”
http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/09/741045/
[25] BBC, 2007/09/19 – “Khong the chap nhan tang hoc phi” Giao Su Hoang Tuy -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2007/09/070918_viet_tuitionfees.shtml
[26] VietNamNet – 2007/06/18 - Thủy Oanh- Tỷ lệ Tốt nghiệp Trung Học Phổ Thông: 66,7% http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/tuyensinh/tintuc-sukien/2007/06/707768/
[27] VietNam Net -2007/08/23 - Kiều Oanh: Cố theo đuổi Đại Học: Lãng phí http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/tuyensinh/huongnghiep/2007/08/732852/
[28] United Nations – MDGs: Trong Kế hoạch Phát triển Kinh tế - Xã hội 5 năm 2006 -2010 của Việt Nam, pg 11
http://www.un.org.vn/undocs/sedp/mdgsedpv.pdf pg 11
[29] DienDan - 2007/08/14 - Hoàng Tụy: “Xã hội hóa” hay là đẩy gánh nặng cho dân?”
http://www.diendan.org/viet-nam/xa-hoi-hoa-giao-duc/
[30] VietNam Net – 2007/08/30 - Kiều Oanh: Tăng học phí năm 2008 http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/2007/08/735768/
[31] Vu Quang Viet, PhD – Tăng học phí: bao nhiêu học sinh bỏ học? –Vietnam Net – 07/14/2007 . http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/07/718033/
[32] The United Nations: Các Mục tiêu Phát triển Thiên niên kỷ (MDGs),
http://www.un.org.vn/undocs/sedp/mdgsedpv.pdf pg 41
[33] http://go.worldbank.org/91KYPZ0S30
[34] General Vo Nguyen Giap contributed ideas about education in Vietnam http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/09/738921/
[35] The Documents of the Ninth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. National Political Publishing House. Hanoi, 2001, (p. 29-31).
2 Sector Review in Education and Human Resource Analysis. MOET, 1994, Hanoi
[36] MOET/ NIESC/ APEC 2006 Nguyên Loc, Assoc. Prof, PhD - Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period - 2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[37] http://home.vef.gov/download/Higher_Education_in_Vietnam.pdf
[38] MOET – Solutions for Education Development. http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.4&view=3461
[39] MOET – Current Situation of Vietnamese Education
http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.1&view=3451
[40] Ibid
[41] Tuong Binh Minh – Giao Duc va Tham Nhung tai Viet Nam - BBC interview http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/story/2005/09/050907_vieteducationproblems.shtml
[42] http://home.vef.gov/download/Higher_Education_in_Vietnam.pdf
[43] Nguyễn Tiến Trung http://lmvs.bravejournal.com/entry/23565
[44] Nguyễn Hoàng Lan http://www.thienlybuutoa.org/Misc/BaiNoiChuyen-NguyenHoangLan-01.htm
[45] Lê Quốc Quân http://freelequocquan.blogspot.com/
[46] Nguyễn Văn Đài http://nguyenvandai.rsfblog.org/
[47] Lê Thị Công Nhân http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_Th%E1%BB%8B_C%C3%B4ng_Nh%C3%A2n
[48] Trần Khải Thanh Thủy http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/2006/10/28/Writer_TranKhaiThanhThuy_was_indulged_in_violence_VHung/
[49] Lê Nguyên Sang http://johnib.wordpress.com/tag/le-nguyen-sang/
[50] Trương Minh Đức http://dvdvn.org/News/20070528_ThongBao04.htm
[51] Đặng Hùng http://dvdvn.org/News/20070528_ThongBao04.htm
[52] Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Vol. 26, No.1, May 2006,
[53] VietNam Net, 2007/07/01 – “Mở Hội Nghị Giáo Dục”
http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/2007/01/651393/
[54] Viet Nam Net, 2007/07/26 - Phạm Hoàng Hải: “Triết lý giáo dục: Không cần thiết”
http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/01/657803/
http://www.vietnamreview.com/english/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=491
[12/10/2007 - Author: admin1 - Vietnam Review]
Giao Ngoc Le
Fairfax, Virginia
13-10-2007
©Vietnam Review
In the traditional Vietnamese culture, scholars and education have always been respected as the most valuable asset of the country.
Since 1945, education in Vietnam has gone through many changes. From 1954-1975, while North Vietnam’s education followed the communist ideology, South Viet Nam had established an education system based on the free world’s standards. Many Vietnamese refugees who fled Viet Nam after 1975 have been able to continue their education very successfully in foreign countries. There are approximately 300,000 Vietnamese overseas who have completed higher education, with master and doctorate degrees. Many of these intellectuals have become world acclaimed scientists with respectable innovation such as Dr. Nguyêt Anh Duong with the Thermo baric weapon [1] or Dr. Le thi Duong who contributed in the invention of Fosamax [2].
On the contrary, since 1975, education inside Vietnam had taken a downgraded turn with only 2% of its population having more than 12 yrs of education by 2006 [3]
The two phases that had caused severe long term damage to the intellectual class of Vietnam happened right after the Communist took control of the people: North Vietnam in 1955-1956 (The Nhân Văn Affair) [4] and South Vietnam in 1975-1985 (Re-education period for all South Vietnamese intellects): the intellectual middle class in Vietnam was almost erased and independent thinking was not allowed.
As Vietnam is on its way to enter the global market, the question looms large: it lacks the human infrastructure. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyên Thiên Nhan who also is the Minister of Education and Training, on August 28, 2007 emphasized the case of a Taiwanese Company opening two factories in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh with a demand for 300,000 engineers and technicians that Viet Nam was unable to provide. The company ended up having to train their workers outside of Viet Nạm. [5]
As the world is coming to Vietnam for investment, the question becomes more puzzled: corruption happens everywhere, at every level [6]. On August 16, 2007, Intel required the Vietnamese officials to sign an agreement enforcing its principles of non-tolerance to corruptions prior to starting its investment in Viet Nam [7].
More than just knowledge, integrity and characters rebuilding can challenge the most experienced educators. Education in Vietnam is in crisis. The centrally-planned-core-curricula to only serve the communist party have proven disastrous in the global arena.
In a report for APEC 2006, Dr. Loc Nguyen of the Ministry of Education and Training stated that until early 1990s, education in Vietnam still served the centrally planned economy, thus it suffered a very difficult transitional period to a market oriented society [8].
Dr. Hai Tran explained that the central party’s total control has impeded any possible innovation of an individual, and the parallel systems of which the party always having absolute power created disruptions and corruptions [9].
In the early 1990s, UNESCO had worked with MOET to identify the problems with the Vietnamese educational system as following:
- Decrease in quantity and quality of education at all levels
- Weak links between technical and vocational training with production and employment.
- Weaknesses in teaching and learning school mapping and research in higher education.
- Weak teaching staff.
- Shortage and ineffective utilization of resources for education and training
- Irrelevance of the structure, management and legislation of education and training
- Irrelevance of education and training in the transition period
Researchers had named this a phase of “degradation or deterioration of education in Vietnam” [10]
A total education renovation policy was introduced. Two main ideas were proposed to rectify the problems with central planning:
1- Implementation of “socialization” of education
2 - Democratization of education.
Along with the change in policy, Vietnam also allowed development of semi-public, private, and people-funded school in addition to public ones.
MOET wrote in its report for APEC 2006 that: “The purpose of this policy is to create favorable conditions for all people to participate in managing education, overcoming the existing authoritarianism in the management of education” [11]
With the support of the United Nations, the World Bank, the United States, and other concerned nations, since 1999, education in Vietnam has begun to take on reforming projects [12] toward a market oriented but still under socialist direction.
The term “socialization education” was coined. This concept originated from the efforts to decentralize the central control of the party, since it has proven not effective. The idea was proposed for higher education only, to allow universities the autonomy in management and finance [13]. This allowed foreign institutions to directly support higher education academically and financially.
However, the implementation of this concept was taken much farther to all educational levels, including primary, intermediate, and secondary. In addition, the implementation became a totally different concept: the central party still controls the management and core curriculum, only the financial burden was decentralized, as written in the official website of the Ministry of Education and Training on October 2, 2006:
“d) To increase the leadership of Party in education. Party Committees from central to local levels should guide and regularly control the implementation of education policies, especially of social participation in education, political and ideological education, the establishment of order, discipline, should consider the development and increase of education quality as an indicator in building the transparent and strong Party unit. To accept more Party members, to strengthen and consolidate Party organization, to make it the nuclear of leadership in schools.”[14]
After nearly two decades of reform, the legacy of central planning and socialist bureaucracy is still extensive. [15] Dr. Le Dang Doanh – former Minister of Economy – remarked to the Political Politburo on February 2004 that “The Party is everywhere, controls everything, in parallel with the administrative system…” thus “there was no one accountable for anything … The system became very costly but ineffective” [16].
This costly governmental system coupled with slow economic growth drained the national budget and divert funds from basic services like health and education.
In an attempt to decentralize the financial burden, Vietnam has required all students to pay tuition [17]. On September 11/ 2007, Viet Nam Express reported that officially each student pays up to VND $4,000,000.00 per school year, but the real educational expenses can add up to VND$13,000,000.00 per student. [18] The United Nations’ Report of the MDGs’ Social Economic Development Programs in Viet Nam observed that the tuition has changed education into a “service per payment” and has created great inequalities among the rich and the poor. The United Nations report pointed out that in average, a rich family could pay 4 times more and thus the rich student could receive better quality in private classes. As a result, only rich students have the opportunities to enter secondary and post secondary education. [19]
A recent article from Far Eastern Economic Review in September 2007, by Jago Penrose, Jonathan Pincus and Scott Cheshier, explained this term as “political benefits are privatized, economic costs are socialized.” [20] The article also pointed out the possible cause for delays in Vietnam’s educational reforms: “… opposing forces, emanating from within the government and party apparatus and economic interests under or allied to sections of the party and state, can be counted on to defend the status quo …” [21]
In a speech on August 6, 2007, former US Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Marine remarked: “The fundamental role of universities is to provide socially and economically beneficial education, and to generate knowledge and innovation. By all accounts, Vietnamese universities are failing to fulfill these critical obligations.” [22]
Despite all reforming efforts since 1986, the most recent World Development Report 2006 by the World Bank cited that Vietnam only has 2% of its population having more than 12yrs in school, about 89% reached 5th grade education, and only 10% of the students with more than 12 yrs schooling are in universities. In 2006, while Seoul University produced 4556 publications, Peking University had almost 3000; both Vietnam National University and Hanoi University of Technology only came up with 34 scientific publications. Compare to 40,000 applications for patent in China, Vietnam only had two [23].
On September 14, 2007, an article on VietNam Net by Bao Anh reported concerns of Vietnamese educators about the effectiveness of the “School for talented students” (Truong Chuyen) established by the Communist Party for the last 42 years. Students graduated from this program showed only specialized knowledge in a narrow field, having no creativities, no innovation, and lack of general knowledge. [24]
In 2007, high school education also faced the reality of only 66.7% students passed their high school graduation exams [25]. 400,000 students had to be reabsorbed back to the system which is already under strain. 600,000 students failed the University Entrance Exam. [26]
The United Nations reported 96% students entered 1st grade, but only 89% continued up to 5th grade.[27] With the current policy called “socialization in education”, where students of all grades have to pay their own tuition, many parents voiced concern that they cannot keep up with the pace of tuition increase. Professor Hoang Tuy, former Dean of the Mathematics Department in Vietnam, remarked that this was an irresponsible formula which the communist government used to force the financing burden of education onto its people. He pointed out that the Vietnamese people have already been sharing 40% of this burden, while in other countries, the most the people have to put in education is only 20%. [28] Professor Hoang Tuy believed that the education budget can be readjusted to cover free tuition for all students grade 1st to 12 if the government cut down on all wasteful spending and stop corruptions from its officers. [29]
On August 31, 2007, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan announced that tuition will definitely be increased in the school year 2008 – 2009 [30]. A recent study by Dr. Vu Quang Viet - Chief of National Accounts Section, United Nations Statistics Division - pointed out that with this pace, 60% of Vietnamese students will be forced out of school [31]. This clearly defined that chances for education in Vietnam today based more on money and power. Equal opportunities to obtain education for school age students nationwide are yet to be reached.
The United Nations recommended free education for all children at least through primary level [32].
The World Bank, in its 2006 World Development Report, emphasized the importance between equity and development, that: “it (inequality) leads to an inefficient use of resources and to less effective institutions, inequity is inimical to long-term development.” [33]
On September 5, 2007, General Vo Nguyen Giap publicly announced his concerns with the current state of education in Vietnam, which he perceived as: “has fallen way behind neighboring countries”. General Giap, in a study with a group of Vietnamese educators and scientists, has proposed assessment and solutions for education in Vietnam [34]
Many of the facts and ideas presented by General Giap had been pointed out, debated, with proposed solutions since the early 1990s by a study of UNESCO with MOET [35], 2002 by Pham Minh Hac [36], 2006 by a study conducted through VEF [37], and clearly written on the website of the Ministry of Education and Training, English version, dated October 2, 2006 [38].
On this official website, the Ministry of Education and Training pointed out the main causes for its infective efforts to change: “The delays in the reform of state administration, in the renovation of economic management, finance management, labour utilization and salary policy, etc., are the factors that hamper the effective solution of education issues,” [39]
The MOET website also remarked “the ethics of certain managers and teachers have degraded” [40] Unqualified teachers with no moral standards had caused a lot of sexual and behavioral scandals in schools nationwide. Corruptions happen at every level of the educational system have eroded the people’s confidence in the traditional scholastic values [41]
Many parents would rather send their children abroad to obtain education, regardless of how much the financial burden could be. A minimal of USD$30,000.00/ year is the average price to ensure the student be placed in a foreign college or university by private consulting services. An estimated amount of 20,000 students are studying abroad each year on institutional scholarships or through their own finances.
It has become a major area of concern with the ability to track and monitor those students. Scandals in this area are regrettably common.
Another area of major concern relates to the status of students abroad both as to the return of the students to Vietnam following the completion of their coursework abroad as well as the quality of the programs they are pursuing.
There has been a gradual understanding that many students may have disincentives to return home because they will be underpaid or the management style of the entities to which they return will not permit them to use the skills they have acquired abroad. [42]
The real signs of change come not without conflicts. Many young intellects after having received education abroad began to question the communist ideology and the one party totalitarian regime. Among them are Nguyễn Tiến Trung [43], Nguyễn Hoàng Lan [44], Lê Quốc Quân, [45] Nguyễn Văn Đài [46] who have become activists for human rights in Vietnam and are considered oppositions to the government. Lê Quốc Quân and Nguyễn Văn Đài have both served jail terms for their belief in human rights. Quân was released prior to the visit of Nguyễn Minh Triết to Washington. Đài is still serving jail term. The young intellectuals at home who dare to dream of democracy and freedom also encountered many hardships. Lawyer Lê thị Công Nhân [47], writer Trần Khải Thanh Thủy [48], Dr. Lê Nguyên Sang [49], writer Trương Minh Đức [50], writer Đặng Hùng [51], …, and many others are all being imprisoned for advocating equalities and human rights.
Viet Nam is contradicting itself in turning against its own new class of intellectuals because they dare to exercise their rights to freedom of speech and their independent thinking. One can see the pattern of Nhan Van and Giai Pham Affair in 1955 being repeated in 2007.
There is an obvious correlation between Vietnam’s disregarding of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and Vietnam’s lack of human infrastructure with a huge need for intellectuals.
Jonathan E London, in his writing for Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Vol. 26, No.1, May 2006, observed that educational reforms in Viet Nam happened passively to catch up with the changes in its economic demands and thus was not a real reform of the whole system, creating a lot more new problems and inequalities. [52]
In October, 2007 The Ministry of Education and Training is planning to host a conference about “Philosophy in Education” to find the real solutions for the educational dilemma. [53]
On January 26, 2007, Mr. Pham Hoang Hai has already offered his view: The immediate change needed is to stop the monopoly of power that created special treatments for a small group of people resulting in inequalities and hamper the real reforms of education. [54].
To put in perspective, education in Vietnam is confronting multiple challenges due to the central control dual systems between the Party and the government without any accountability resulting in:
1. Poor planning and budgeting with wasteful use of money and resources for education
2. Inequalities in opportunity to obtain education for majority of students.
3. Lack of independent thinking for innovation ideas.
4. Lack of integrity due to the corrupted system.
5. The public has no confidence in the education system.
In reality, the practical challenges are:
1- Ineffective educational reform efforts due to delays in reform of the state administration and government officials. Decentralization has not been implemented in its real essence, thus hamper the reforms. Transparency is needed in the accounting of MOET.
2 - Inequalities for basic education nationwide with the “socialization education” policy.
3 - Ineffective educational programs.
4 - Ineffective teaching staffs with shortage of teachers.
5 -Lack of integrity, low moral, degraded ethics, no concepts of accountability among management groups and teachers.
Recommendations:
The Vietnamese government would be in a more advantage position if the following suggestions are followed:
1/ The Vietnamese government would carry out immediate reforms of the state administration and government officials to its proposed goals of decentralization and democratization:
- Adapting and honoring the principles suggested by the United Nations, the World Bank, and ASEAN. Implementing the global values of human rights, civil rights, equal opportunities and justice for all and reflecting these values in the core educational programs at all levels. Release all intellectuals that was convicted for advocating the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
- Streamline the educational administrative system to allow only the professional educators the autonomy needed to improve pedagogy. This streamline should also cut down corruptions and enable the system to relocate their budget to be more educational focus.
2/ Free education for 1st – 12 grade to reduce inequalities.
3/ Raise teachers’ salary and benefits to a comfortable, compatible level to reduce corruptions and increase motivation. Offer frequent retraining and in-services to teachers.
4/ Implement renovated educational programs that focus on independent thinking and characters building as proposed by UNESCO in 1994 and VEF in 2006.
5/ Work with the Vietnamese Overseas Task Forces in developing educational supporting programs to help with the Vietnamese students abroad as well as updating the curricula to international standards.
If Vietnam follows the above suggestions, it will gain the support of the Vietnamese overseas to assist in the development of Vietnam. This will in turn give Vietnam substantial changes in human infrastructure to compete with the growing market in Southeast Asia.
The real winners would be the Vietnamese people who would benefit from a sound education that they will be very proud of for generations to come.
Footnotes:
[1] Nguyêt Anh Duong, PhD., and the Thermo baric weapon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyet_Anh_Duong
[2] Le Thi Duong, PhD. and Fosamax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alendronate
[3] World Development Report 2006
[4] “The Nhân Văn Affair” - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nh%C3%A2n_V%C4%83n_Affair
[5] VietNam Net – 2007/08/28 – Ha Anh & Kiêu Oanh - “Pho Thu Tuong doc giang tai lop hoc hieu truong”
[6] Transparency International – Vietnam_NIS_2006-pdf pg 11
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2007/nis_in_east_and_southeast_asia#pr
[7] SBTN – Intel refused to tolerate corruptions in its company in Viet Nam
http://www.sbtn.net/?catid=193&newsid=21790&pid=157
[8] MOET - Nguyen Loc, PhD, Assoc. Prof – Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period. PDF - APEC2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[9] Tran Hai, PhD – Education in Vietnam – VSG report, 09/2007.
[10] MOET - Nguyen Loc, PhD, Assoc. Prof – Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period. PDF - APEC2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[11] Ibid, pg 4.
[12] MOET- Vietnam’s educational reform projects since 1999 – http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=1.1
[13] MOET - Nguyen Loc, PhD, Assoc. Prof – Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period. PDF – APEC2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[14] MOET – Solutions for Education Development – 5.3 (d) - 2006 http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.4&view=3461
[15] Transparency International - Vietnam_NIS_2006.pdf. pg 10
[16] Le Dang Doanh’s Speech in front of the Communist Political Politburo – on February 11, 2004 .
http://www.thienlybuutoa.org/Misc/LeDangDoanh.htm
[17] MOET – Solutions for Education Development – 5.3 (d) - 2006 http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.4&view=3461
[18] VNExpress, 2007/09/11 - Tiên Dung & Lan Huong: “Phu huynh oan lung voi cac khoan phi dau nam” - http://www.vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Xa-hoi/2007/09/3B9FA104/
[19] The United Nations – MDGs’ Social Economic Development Programs for Viet Nam 2006-2010, pg 6. http://www.un.org.vn/undocs/sedp/mdgsedpv.pdf
[20] Far Eastern Economic Review, September 2007, Vietnam: Beyond Fish and Ships-
by Jago Penrose, Jonathan Pincus and Scott Cheshier.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ambassador Michael W. Marine - “Challenges of Higher Education in Vietnam: Possible Roles for the United States” – Speech on 08/06/2007 at the University of Hawaii’s Shadier College of Business Executive MBA Program Ho Chi Minh City
[23] WDR 2006
[24] VietNam Net, 2007/09/14 – Bao Anh – “Truong chuyen: Tao nhan tai hay luyen ga noi?”
http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/09/741045/
[25] BBC, 2007/09/19 – “Khong the chap nhan tang hoc phi” Giao Su Hoang Tuy -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2007/09/070918_viet_tuitionfees.shtml
[26] VietNamNet – 2007/06/18 - Thủy Oanh- Tỷ lệ Tốt nghiệp Trung Học Phổ Thông: 66,7% http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/tuyensinh/tintuc-sukien/2007/06/707768/
[27] VietNam Net -2007/08/23 - Kiều Oanh: Cố theo đuổi Đại Học: Lãng phí http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/tuyensinh/huongnghiep/2007/08/732852/
[28] United Nations – MDGs: Trong Kế hoạch Phát triển Kinh tế - Xã hội 5 năm 2006 -2010 của Việt Nam, pg 11
http://www.un.org.vn/undocs/sedp/mdgsedpv.pdf pg 11
[29] DienDan - 2007/08/14 - Hoàng Tụy: “Xã hội hóa” hay là đẩy gánh nặng cho dân?”
http://www.diendan.org/viet-nam/xa-hoi-hoa-giao-duc/
[30] VietNam Net – 2007/08/30 - Kiều Oanh: Tăng học phí năm 2008 http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/2007/08/735768/
[31] Vu Quang Viet, PhD – Tăng học phí: bao nhiêu học sinh bỏ học? –Vietnam Net – 07/14/2007 . http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/07/718033/
[32] The United Nations: Các Mục tiêu Phát triển Thiên niên kỷ (MDGs),
http://www.un.org.vn/undocs/sedp/mdgsedpv.pdf pg 41
[33] http://go.worldbank.org/91KYPZ0S30
[34] General Vo Nguyen Giap contributed ideas about education in Vietnam http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/09/738921/
[35] The Documents of the Ninth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. National Political Publishing House. Hanoi, 2001, (p. 29-31).
2 Sector Review in Education and Human Resource Analysis. MOET, 1994, Hanoi
[36] MOET/ NIESC/ APEC 2006 Nguyên Loc, Assoc. Prof, PhD - Vietnam’s Education in the Transitional Period - 2006/SOM2/HRDWG/057
[37] http://home.vef.gov/download/Higher_Education_in_Vietnam.pdf
[38] MOET – Solutions for Education Development. http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.4&view=3461
[39] MOET – Current Situation of Vietnamese Education
http://en.moet.gov.vn/?page=6.1&view=3451
[40] Ibid
[41] Tuong Binh Minh – Giao Duc va Tham Nhung tai Viet Nam - BBC interview http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/story/2005/09/050907_vieteducationproblems.shtml
[42] http://home.vef.gov/download/Higher_Education_in_Vietnam.pdf
[43] Nguyễn Tiến Trung http://lmvs.bravejournal.com/entry/23565
[44] Nguyễn Hoàng Lan http://www.thienlybuutoa.org/Misc/BaiNoiChuyen-NguyenHoangLan-01.htm
[45] Lê Quốc Quân http://freelequocquan.blogspot.com/
[46] Nguyễn Văn Đài http://nguyenvandai.rsfblog.org/
[47] Lê Thị Công Nhân http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_Th%E1%BB%8B_C%C3%B4ng_Nh%C3%A2n
[48] Trần Khải Thanh Thủy http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/2006/10/28/Writer_TranKhaiThanhThuy_was_indulged_in_violence_VHung/
[49] Lê Nguyên Sang http://johnib.wordpress.com/tag/le-nguyen-sang/
[50] Trương Minh Đức http://dvdvn.org/News/20070528_ThongBao04.htm
[51] Đặng Hùng http://dvdvn.org/News/20070528_ThongBao04.htm
[52] Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Vol. 26, No.1, May 2006,
[53] VietNam Net, 2007/07/01 – “Mở Hội Nghị Giáo Dục”
http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/2007/01/651393/
[54] Viet Nam Net, 2007/07/26 - Phạm Hoàng Hải: “Triết lý giáo dục: Không cần thiết”
http://www.vietnamnet.vn/giaoduc/vande/2007/01/657803/
http://www.vietnamreview.com/english/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=491