Education and the system of higher learning and technical schools is very important to business as it provides the trained workers and also a system to transfer skills and train new employees needed in a modern business society.
In Vietnam, the economy in recent years has had a remarkable performance. GDP growth increased 8.5% in 2006, 8.2% in 2007 and 8.5% in 2009. In 2009, according to the Asia Development Bank (ADB) in their latest late September, 2009 revision the bank predicted that growth would be 4.7% for all 2009. Growth in 2010 is projected at 6.5 percent according to the same source. Future growth is highly dependent on a high quality workforce who are better skilled and trained in modern education and with better quality language skills.
Education has always had a central role in Vietnam culture and society. It is seen as the avenue of advancement and families routinely sacrifice much to ensure their offspring get the required education. The government of Vietnam has for some time set the priority of education in terms of its budget. Currently, education occupies approximately 20% of all state budget expenditures and accounts for 5.5% of GDP (source: Department of Finance and Planning, MOET, 2008). Below is a chart that shows the current education system in Vietnam:
The education system in Vietnam
With a country with over 86 million people and with more than 60% under the age of 35 (Source: General Department of Statistics of Vietnam, 2009), Vietnam’s education needs for this young population are huge. Despite attention by the government only about 1.6 million (about 2%) actually are now at higher education institutions. Each year approximately 1.2 million students graduate from secondary education but the enrollment to higher education is only around 300 thousand.
Since the combination of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education into the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in 1990, MOET has had responsibility for all education and training at the national level. Under Vietnamese government decree 322008-ND-CP, MOET is divided into 19 separate departments and several related units, of which the most important are the following - units responsible for primary and secondary education, higher education, teacher education, adult education and the finance and planning department. MOET’s responsibilities include every level of education including pre-school, general education, professional education, tertiary education and continuing education. MOET’s responsibilities include:
- Setting of policy and promulgation of regulations affecting curriculum
- the research, writing and publishing of text books
- enrollment and student management
- academic assessment procedures and quality assurance
- infrastructure and facility maintenance
- staffing and personnel selection for educators
- development of future education plans
- suggesting and initially drafting proposed legislation for submission to the government for regulations of education matters such as establishment and construction of universities, policies on study abroad and building of an educated elite, scholarship, etc.
Although MOET plays in many ways the lead role in education in Vietnam, there are several higher education institutions in Vietnam that are under other line ministries or government agencies. Examples of this are the Hanoi Medical College that falls under the Ministry of Health and the Water Resource University under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Also, a further example of this is the two National Universities who though nominally under MOET operate independently as separate entities and report directly to the Office of the Government of Vietnam.
Although MOET has the primary role in education, there is some change occurring. Decree 85/2003 and Decree No. 166/2004/ND-CP allow local education authorities more power and responsibility to initiate long-term local education programs in their respective areas. Further, Universities are increasingly obtaining autonomy over financing(self management of funding), training, research, human-resources, and international cooperation. Resolution No. 14/2005, dated November 2, 2005 and the Government’s Higher Education Reform Agenda 2006-2020 have acted to require university and college managing boards to prepare their own spending plans and to implement them under oversight from MOET. Much discussion is occurring about how these new policies and others might facilitate better quality research and teaching while also providing a legal framework of responsibility and with increased accountability.
The Education Law
The Education Law of 2005 sets forth more explicitly the requirements for the Vietnamese higher education system. This law defined higher education as what one receives at the college or university level. It further set the degrees available and the structure for pursuing them. Under the system described in the law, a person with a high school diploma may pursue either a 4-6 year academic program for a bachelor’s degree or alternatively a 3-year academic program at a junior college. A junior college degree holder may then continue for an additional 1-2 years to secure a bachelor’s degree. A student with a bachelor’s degree may pursue and additional two years to qualify for a master’s degree and 3-4 years more to obtain a doctorate.
The law further sets-out which institutions may grant what degrees. Junior colleges are responsible for 3-year training programs but Universities also have some responsibilities in this area. Universities may also offer 4-6 year training programs and with permission of the Prime Minister, master’s and doctoral degrees. Research institutes are primarily responsible for doctoral degrees but also with the permission of the Prime Minister can provide Master’s Degrees in cooperation with Universities. Doctorate degrees in Vietnam are more comparable in Math and Science disciplines to those in Europe and with less training than those of major U.S. institutions.
