VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of vocational schools have been built just to be left… idle, because Vietnamese students don’t like going to vocational schools.

It is estimated that 70,000 students finish secondary schools every year in HCM City. A part of the students are not capable enough to continue the high education, but they would rather go to high school rather than to vocational intermediate vocational schools (2- year training).

About 5,000 secondary school graduates are estimated to fail the exams to enter state owned high schools. In principle, the 5,000 students could be the potential learners for vocational schools. However, most of them refuse to go learning a trade. They would rather to study at private high schools, even though they have to pay higher tuitions.

A report of the HCM City Education and Training Department showed that in 2007-2008, of the 55,055 students finishing high schools and continuation education schools, only 17,685 students went to vocational schools.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, the city had 63,255 students finishing high schools, but only 14,522 decided to go to vocational schools.

Even the students, who failed the high school final exams, also did not want to go to vocational schools. They would rather to retake the next years to obtain the high school degrees, which allow them to take the university entrance exams.

Following university education is the target of nearly all Vietnamese students, no matter how their learning capability is. If they fail the entrance exams to state owned schools, they would register to study at people founded schools, which have been mushrooming in recent years.

The headmaster of a high school in Go Vap district in HCM City said that though 5,000 students would not obtain seats at state owned high schools this year, vocational schools would not have many learners. He said Vietnamese would only go to vocational school as the last resort, when they have no other choice.

In Vietnam, higher education degrees have always been more appreciated. Therefore, it is understandable why vocational schools have not been favored by Vietnamese students and their parents.

However, Pham Ngoc Thanh, Deputy Director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, noted that vocational schools should blame themselves for the lack of students. Vocational school graduates find it difficult to find jobs because of the bad teaching and the poor knowledge they receive from the schools. Therefore, they believe it is a big waste of time to go to vocational schools.

It is really very difficult to attract students to vocational schools. However, it does not mean that it’s impossible to attract students to the schools.

Tan Phu district in HCM City is known as the locality with the highest number of immigrant workers. A lot of industrial zones are set up there which need a large number of skilled workers. There are 21 secondary, high school and continuation education schools there.

However, very few secondary and high school graduates went to vocational schools in the past, before the district’s authorities applied the measures of student allotment.

Ta Tan, Head of the Tan Phu district’s education sub-department, said the district’s center for science and career guidance sends staff to every school to give career advices to students. The sub-department has been joining forces with vocational schools to train students on the spot. Students can practice the careers consistent with the development tendency. About 2,000 students have accepted to go to vocational schools there since 2005.

NLD