Ten years ago, Minh's family was listed among poor families which needed support from the state. However, a new chapter began in their lives when his two children left to work in Germany.

Like Minh’s children, many students in Ha Tinh’s communes, such as Cuong Giang (Nghi Xuan district), My Loc and Thien Loc (Can Loc), Cam Nhuong and Cam Linh (Cam Xuyen, Thach Bang and Thach Kim (Loc Ha), did not want to continue study at a higher education level, but wanted to go abroad as guest workers.

Nguyen Thi Mai H, born in 2004 in Thach Bang commune, said she passed the entrance exam to The University of Foreign Languages, a member school of Hue University, but decided not to enroll. 

Now she is practicing for the IELTS exam, hoping to get at least a 5.5 score to be able to attend a vocational training course in Australia.

According to H, 24 out of 42 students in her class did not want to go to university. Only nine of her classmates are studying at university, while the majority have decided to leave for South Korea, Japan and Canada to attend vocational training courses, or are spending time learning foreign languages to apply to become export workers. 

There are nearly 300 households in Xuan Hai hamlet where H lives, and 193 people are guest workers. Most of them have a high school diploma.

Head of Xuan Hai Hamlet Nguyen Huu Tho said that most students work instead of going to university after high school graduation. Some families with good financial capability send children to overseas vocational training courses.

“Since 2018, only three students have studied at university,” he said.

According to Tho, in 2019-2020, 17 students in the hamlet finished high school and three were admitted to universities. In 2020-2021, 15 students finished high school and three were accepted by universities, but none of them chose to study there.

Nguyen Van Thieu, deputy chair of Thach Bang People’s Committee, said that many students don’t want to follow higher education, but wanted to go abroad to work as guest workers, because the jobs offered good pay.

“There are many hamlets and communes where university students are absent,” he said.

“In Thach Bang commune, 1,580 people are working overseas. The face of the commune has changed a lot thanks to money remitted from overseas. Hundreds of multi-story houses have arisen. Some families now have cars,” Thieu said.

Nguyen Thai Phi, headmaster of Mai Thuc Loan High School, estimated that 30-40 percent of high school graduates go abroad every year to attend vocational training courses, or work as guest workers. The students are mostly in the communes of Thach Bang and Thach Kim. 

Overseas work changes face of poor rural areas

Education experts say that students have become more practical than previous generations. Instead of trying every possible means to obtain a seat at university and a bachelor’s degree, and possibly become jobless, they would rather work as a factory worker or other vocational jobs and receive high salaries.

Minh’s story is a typical example.

“None of my children have a higher education level, but they can earn big money,” Minh related his story. After graduating from high school, they followed a training course on cooking in HCM City and then left for Germany to work as kitchen maids. They remit more than VND100 million to us each month."

All villagers in Thien Loc commune can live in easy circumstances on the money remitted by their children working overseas. 

According to Thien Loc Commune‘s chair Dang Tuan Anh, there are 1,500 overseas workers, mostly in European countries. Each individual sends VND30 million to their relatives each month. Hundreds of billions of dong are remitted each year.

A headmaster at a high school in Can Loc district said in the 2021-2022 academic year, only 30 percent of students registered to study at university.

Dau Tinh