According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), Vietnamese spend $3-4 billion a year on their children’s studies overseas, and 90 percent of overseas Vietnamese students are self-funded.

The figure shows that Vietnamese want to receive foreign education which is believed to be better than Vietnam’s, which is ‘conservative’ and ‘inclined to academic knowledge’. 

However, the big disadvantage of overseas study is the high cost, while students may meet difficulties as they have to live away from families.

Therefore, studying at foreign universities in Vietnam is expected to be an ideal choice. Most importantly, international in-country education is less costly than overseas study.

According to Dang Duc Long from the Da Nang University, this mode of training has been popular in regional countries such as Singapore and Malaysia and has attracted a high number of students from Vietnam.

Long said the UK’s education program has many strong points that Vietnam can apply. British schools attach much importance to research and applying research discoveries in real life. He believes many Vietnamese universities will cooperate with British schools in the immediate time.

Nguyen Trong Hoai, Vice Rector of the HCMC Economics University, said only a small number of Vietnamese families can afford their children’s expensive training courses overseas, while the majority of students have to study in Vietnam. 

Students are advised to follow joint training programs in Vietnam, opened by Vietnamese schools in cooperation with foreign schools. 

Students can either have 2-3 years of study in Vietnam and 1-year study overseas, or have university education in Vietnam before following postgraduate training courses overseas. The study model will help students save money.

Reluctance

However, despite advantages, international in-country training programs are still not a favorite choice for Vietnamese students.

The biggest reason behind this is the concern over the quality of joint training programs. Local newspapers quoted an education expert as saying that the training programs accept all students who pay tuition, while there is no requirement on students’ learning capability.

Ha Thu Giao, a parent in Hanoi, said she is considering two possibilities – either funding her daughter’s study overseas, or enrolling her in a domestic school.

“If you have money, you should send your kids abroad, where the kids can practice foreign languages and study in international environment, which in-country programs cannot provide,” she said.

“If you don’t have money, go to Vietnamese universities,” she said. “Vietnam’s higher education quality has improved significantly.”

RELATED NEWS

High expenses prompt VN students to rethink overseas study plans

The psychological effects of studying overseas