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National Overview: Vietnam

Definition of Literacy -- age 15 can read and write

Written or Oral Language – Vietnam has both a written and oral language.

Literacy rate -- total: 90.3%, female: 86.9%, male: 93.9%

Overview of Education -- The Vietnamese government has recognized education as a top priority in national policy, which partly explains the very high literacy rate in Vietnam. Local governments manage general education and the central government manages tertiary education; this is mostly due to budgets set by the government. There is a consistent set of values regarding education and training present in the education system as a result of many education administrators having graduated form universities in Eastern Europe. Despite the gains of the education system in Vietnam, many critique some of its shortcomings. One is that males are favored over females because of the subordinate view of women that predominates in Vietnam. Another is that the educational system targets children of wealthier households instead of poorer households, giving an unfair advantage to rich Vietnamese.

Total expenditure on education -- 5,615 billion dong ($353,000,000); 3% of GNP

Script/Alphabet used -- Vietnamese is written left to right using the Latin alphabet.

Occupational distribution – agriculture: 63%, industry and services: 37%

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School Structure

Primary School:

• Length: 5 years
• Age level: 6 -11 years old

General Secondary School:

• Length: 4 years
• Age level: 11 -15 years old

Preparatory Secondary School:

• Length: 3 years
• Age level: 15-18 years old

Technical School and Junior College:

• Length: 3 years
• Age level: 15-18 years old

Higher Education: Vietnam has colleges where one can attain a masters or a Ph.D. Tertiary school requires 4-6 years, a master’s degree requires 2 years, and a PhD requires 3-5 years.

Public or private schools and compulsory or optional -- Vietnam has public and private schooling that is compulsory from ages 6 to 15

School Attendance % -- primary: 93.3%, secondary: 24.4%

Percent Education level achieved -- 80.5% finish primary school, but less than half finish secondary school

Post-Secondary Opportunities -- There are universities in Hanoi, Hue, Thai Nguyen, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City and smaller institutes in the provincial capitals. However, in 2000-2001 only 10% of college age Vietnamese were expected to attend higher education.

Pupil to teacher ratio -- 25:1

Teacher Qualifications -- teachers are college educated. Many attended university in Eastern Europe.

Languages in School -- public schools are taught in Vietnamese, but many private schools teach in English or French.

Method of instruction and Subjects/Curriculum -- The purpose of public education in Vietnam is to prepare students to be employed. They receive teaching in standard subjects and also courses in Marxism and Leninism.

Physical Environment -- there are both urban and rural schools in Vietnam. Many schools are in modern buildings.

Culture of classroom including discipline – discipline is generally stricter in Vietnam than in the U.S.

Gender roles in classroom -- The woman’s role is generally seen to be in the household, caring for children. Females do go to school, but they generally do not progress as far as males.

Educational barriers -- Generally, females are favored over males in education. Also, because of limited economic opportunities, wealthier students have greater access to higher education.

Socio-political influences -- Vietnam has made education a main priority since reforms in the 1970’s, which sought to make education more relevant to the needs of Vietnam. Despite the emphasis put on education, many districts lack adequate facilities and financial support.

Progress --** Vietnam has made great strides in making education more relevant and accessible to the majority of Vietnamese. However, there is still a large gap between the educational opportunities of the privileged and the majority.

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Sources

Government of Vietnam homepage. www.mof.gov

Jackie Bong- Wright; Gender and Development in Vietnam in the 21st century

The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook. January 10, 2006.

The World Bank. http://devdata.worldbank.org. 2002.

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

http://www.uis.unesco.org/profiles/EN/EDU/countryProfile. March, 2002.

www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/april/Vietnemese

www.worldbank.org/researchjournals

www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/hrbap/vietnamchildbudgetpdf

www.hmoungstudies.com/vietnamforEDOLteachersVS2002pdf

www.english-schools.org/Vietnam

http://asiarecipe.com/vietflag.html

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Last Revised

02 November 2006