Nguyen Phuong Anh, a second-year student at Hanoi National University, complained that she would have to learn philosophy next semester.

“The older students in my school told me that this is really hard,” she said.

Nguyen Van Hoa, chair of Tan Trao Commune in Tuyen Quang province, well known as the only commune official in Vietnam who has a master’s degree from University of Birmingham, said that philosophy, political economy and logic were his three most boring subjects. He said the majority of Vietnamese students feel the same way.

However, Hoa admitted they are the most useful subjects that can be applied in his life.

Why do Vietnamese students hate philosophy, an essential subject which provides different worldviews, methods of perception, and contribution to understanding of social problems?

Dr. Tran Thi Hanh, Vice Dean of Philosophy Faculty of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, a member school of the Hanoi National University, said students don’t understand the subject and think it is too complex, and others understand it but do not remember what they have learned. And some students understand and remember the knowledge, but they cannot use it in their lives.

As such, students say there is no need to try to study a subject which is complex and really necessary for their lives.

Anh, a foreign language major, said her priority is to practice English as much as possible to become good interpreter. 

“It is my English skill which will determine the quality of my life, not philosophy,” she said. 

Hanh said she was not surprised at Anh’s comments. Many Vietnamese students share the same view.

However, she said the problem lies in the way curricula is designed.

In the past, university students had 90 periods for philosophy, 75 periods for political economy and 60 periods for scientific socialism. However, since 2008, the number of periods have been cut to 30, 45 and 45, respectively.

“It is obvious that 30 periods are not enough to teach philosophy which has thousand-year history,” she said.

In addition, teachers have to give lectures in unfavorable conditions.

“Imagine hundreds of students in a large lecture hall and teachers have to teach with overhead projectors and microphones,” she said. “In such conditions, discussing the issues of philosophy proves to be impossible.”

Ngan Anh