Educational Research for Policy and Practice (2004) 3: 199–222 © Springer 2005

DOI 10.1007/s10671-005-0678-0

Education and Economic, Political, and Social Change in Vietnam

Pham Lan Huong

Director, Center for International Educational Research,
Hong Bang University,
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
E-mail: lhuong@saigonnet.vn

Gerald W. Fry
Department of Educational Policy and Administration,
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities,
Minneapolis, USA
E-mail: gwf@umn.edu

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the complex relations among history, education,
political economy, and social change in Vietnam. Vietnam has a long history of edu-
cation and a literate culture. The evolution of Vietnamese culture and society is char-
acterized by both persistence and change. Social and political persistence and change
have been profoundly affected by education in Vietnam. In this paper major external
influences on Vietnamese education and social change are considered, including Chi-
nese Confucian influences, French colonial influences, Soviet and US influences during
the Cold War, and more contemporary international global influences as Vietnam has
become part of the global economy and international regimes. The importance influ-
ence of the policy of “doi moi” (economic renovation) introduced in 1986 is seen as
resulting in a major transformation in Vietnam. The paper concludes with a discussion
of Vietnam’s future and its goals of developing a modern economy through a prior-
ity on the development of human capital through a distinctive Vietnamese educational
system, drawing eclectically and creatively on diverse external influences.

Key Words: education and economic change, external influences on Vietnamese edu-
cation, education and political change, education and social change, socioeconomic
transformation, Vietnam, the evolution of Vietnamese education.

Introduction

While there has been considerable research done on Vietnamese educa-

tion (see Pham, 1998; Tran, 1992, 2002), there has been little written
about education and socio-political change in Vietnam and the complex
200 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

relations among history, education, political economy, and social change

in Vietnam. Over a long history of several thousand years, dating back
to the first Vietnamese kingdom of Van Lang (2879 B.C.), education has
both been a powerful force for change and at other times a force to main-
tain the status quo and resist attempts to change. Both during the feu-
dal mandarinate period and later French colonial period, authorities often
feared education as a force which could undermine their rule and related
elitist privileges. Traditional Chinese culture, which had a strong influence
on the evolution of Vietnamese society, “turned its back on all disquieting
change” (Thompson, 1968, p. 290).
The US War in Vietnam has inspired a rather massive outpouring of
both written and film material about Vietnam. Much of this literature
focuses on the war and is presented from a narrow US perspective (Issacs,
1997, p. 145), which tends to see Vietnam as a war, not a country. In this
article, there is a strong emphasis on presenting Vietnamese and non-US
perspectives on education and social change.

Vietnam: Its Educational Heritage and Important Historical Context

Vietnam has an extremely long history, in which it developed a literate civ-

ilization. Having experienced nearly 1000 years under Chinese imperial rule
prior to its independence in 938, Vietnam was strongly influenced by Con-
fucian ideas and ideology, which left an indelible cultural and educational
impact on Vietnam which persists to this very day. Reflective of Southeast
Asia’s distinctive capability to absorb and adapt external influences (Reid,
1999, pp. 4–5), Vietnam borrowed culturally much from China (especially
in urban areas), but at the same time resisted, with great courage and inge-
nuity, imperial China’s attempts to absorb Vietnam politically. On numer-
ous occasions during the past ten centuries, the Vietnamese successfully
resisted Chinese invasions.
In the analysis of contemporary Vietnamese education, important his-
torical context is often ignored. Such historical amnesia can lead to tragic
consequences, such as the case of the US War in Vietnam (McNamara, 1999;
Schneider, 2001), which led to the loss of 3.4 million Vietnamese lives and
over 58,000 US lives (Morris, 2003). In terms of the historical and political
context of Vietnam, five themes are important: (1) the continual Vietnamese
struggle to free themselves from external domination; (2) the struggle against
natural disasters, such as floods and typhoons; (3) nam tiên (expansion to the
South); (4) Chinese cultural and intellectual influences, particularly in the cit-
ies; and (5) the importance of village life as the heart of Vietnamese culture
and related wet rice cooperative culture (Pham & Fry, 2004, pp. 301–333).
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 201

Fondness for learning and an emphasis on morality in education have

been important traditional Vietnamese values. Since respect for learning
and teachers have been enduring traits of the Vietnamese people through-
out its civilization, these values have contributed fundamentally to the
shaping of Vietnamese culture, history, and its people.
Traditionally, careers in education have had an extremely important
place in Vietnamese society. Intellectuals usually taught and teaching was
thought of as an elevated career. Teachers were highly valued and it was
thought that “without a teacher, you can do nothing” (Pham & Fry, 2004).
Traditionally in Vietnam, girls did not want to marry a wealthy landlord
but instead a learned student. It is also important to note that Vietnam
truyen thong has a long tradition of higher education. In fact, Vietnam has the oldest
tromh giao duc recorded institution of higher education (1076) in Southeast Asia. Vietnam
voi teacher is part of the Confucian world. However, the Vietnamese have adapted and
modified such values resulting in the Vietnamization of Confucianism. At
Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (the Royal College established at the Temple
of Literature), the statute of Confucius shows him with a teacher’s hat,
instead of a crown that is usually seen in Chinese statutes Pham & Fry,
2004 pp. 301–333). This cultural heritage demonstrates the great signifi-
cance placed on learning and the special respect and honor bestowed by
the Vietnamese on teachers, scholars, students, and mentors.
Though the Confucian examination system was highly elitist, it did provide
for social mobility and encouraged serious and dedicated study. In the Confu-
cian system, any one had the potential to reach the highest level, depending on
how motivated they were to study the classical material and pass the various
meritocratic exams (Leconfield, 1933, pp. 164–165; Lavergne & Adams, 1954,
p. 2; Thanyathip, Theera, & Pham, 2003, p. 177). The historian Joseph Buttinger
describes the positive aspects of the traditional system:
All of the country’s officials were scholars, and all scholars, whether in government service or
not, were morally obliged to teach the young. No village was without its school, no school
without its qualified teachers, and no gifted pupil was denied the chance to attend an insti-
tute of higher learning. (Buttinger cited in McConnell, 1989, p. 3).

Also nearly all had some minimal literacy, which enabled them to par-
ticipate in important ancestor worship rituals, for example. This was
certainly a source of pride for many individuals. Despite these posi-
tive influences, Confucian education also had important inherent prob-
lems. Nguyen Truong To, a newly converted Catholic, in reflecting on the van de cua nho
Confucian education system stated that “no other country in the world giao ve to chuc
has so irrational a system of education” (Pham, unpublished MA, thesis). trong giao duc
The system was also criticized for its lack of curriculum covering practi-
cal or technological skills, and its looking down on manual work (Pham,
202 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

unpublished MA thesis). With respect to Confucian education and change,

Pham (unpublished MA thesis) states:
Confucian education and examinations were the most effective tool in the hands of the feu-
dal group in maintaining the status quo for thousands of years.

Woodside also points out how the Mandarin perspective on education

“refuses to recognize the role of education in community economic devel-
opment” (1976, p. 273).

Vietnamese Education in the Colonial Period

Vietnam experienced both Western colonialism and pre-modern Chinese

imperial colonialism (111 BC–938 AD). A key element in such colonial
influences was that of language. The most profound Chinese influence
related to the writing of Vietnamese and the development of abstract intel-
lectual Vietnamese. For centuries until the early 20th century Vietnam used
Chinese characters for its writing system. In the 13th century, a Vietnamese
style of Chinese characters (Chu Nom) was introduced, but the elite man-
darinate continued to privilege traditional Chinese writing and characters.
The complexity of either system of characters contributed to the persis-
tence of elitist education and limited the possibilities of widespread func-
tional literacy. Then, in the 17th century, with the assistance of Alexandre
de Rhodes, a French missionary and scholar, the Vietnamese developed a
relatively simple Romanized Vietnamese script for writing tonal Vietnam-
ese known as quoc ngu (Pham, 1998, p. ix). This innovation was to have
profound and unanticipated consequences on the evolution of education
in Vietnam. This new writing system made Vietnamese language far more
accessible to ordinary Vietnamese, with great implications for raising mass
consciousness to foster both political and social change. The quoc ngu sim-
plified writing system was adopted in Cochinchina (the southern part of
colonial Vietnam) in 1878.
A major motivation for France’s interest in colonizing Vietnam was
its naı̈ve dream that the Mekong River which flows from China into the
Mekong Delta and into the South China Sea (Vietnamese refer to it as
the Eastern Sea) could be navigable and become a major economic gate-
way to China (Garnier, 1994; Osborne, 2000). Also, Vietnam had rich
natural resources such as rubber, timber, tin, coal, and rice. Though the
real reason for colonization was economic, the French justified their inva-
sion of Vietnam based on the assassination and alleged mistreatment
of French missionaries by the Imperial Vietnam government. Once pres-
ent and in complete control of Vietnam in the late 19th century, they
also stressed their mission civilisatrice (civilizing mission) to uplift the
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 203

“backward and primitive” Vietnamese to appreciate the high culture and

intellect of French civilization. The French Minister of Marine and the
Colonies was “equally emphatic that no sacrifices could be more useful
and fruitful than those which the Colony should make to familiarize the
Annamese with French ideas, morality, industry, science, and economics”
(Leconfield, 1933, p. 173).
The goal of the French was to replace the Chinese influenced feudal
Confucian system with an elitist modern educational system which priv-
ileged the French language. The curricula developed had little relevance
to Vietnam and mirrored those in France. Both primary and secondary
education were almost identical with those of the métropole (Thompson,
1968, pp. 287–288). The system was designed to serve the children of
local French colons and to train a highly limited number of Vietnamese
to become functionaries in their colonial system (interpreters and petty
administrators, for example). The French journalist, Andre Viollis, reported
that a French colon (rubber plantation owner) stated that “the more edu-
cated they are, the more discontent they will be.” (Pham, unpublished
MA thesis). The French also attempted to coopt the local elite Mandarins
through the new French educational system. By 1918 the simplified quoc
ngu Romanized writing system had been adopted throughout Vietnam and
replaced the traditional Confucian system.

Vietnamese Nationalism and Resistance to the French: The Role of

Education and Intellectuals

Given its strong tradition of resisting foreign rule, Vietnamese nationalism

and resistance to the French quickly emerged and grew steadily. French
actions and policies in noticeable contradiction to the ideals of the French
revolution and the Enlightenment contributed to Vietnamese anger and
hatred (see Woodside, 2000). Reflecting this blatant pattern of hypocrisy,
Woodside (p. 115) states:
But the French colonists themselves were to practice racial discrimination outside their
schools while teaching Rousseau and Hugo inside them.
tinh hung bao, tan ac su oan gian
French atrocities and the growing Vietnamese resentment are carefully
documented by Truong (1967) in his study: Patterns of Vietnamese Response
to Foreign Intervention: 1858–1900. Among many such resented French
nguoi biet giao
may chem
actions were the use of the guillotine to eliminate potential dissenters (Grey,
1983, p. 160) and the promotion of alcohol and opium consumption to gen-
erate tax revenues for the French colony.
su chong cu
Integral to the nationalist resistance movement was a call for educational
reform (Nguyen, 1866–1868) and the prominent role of politically oriented
204 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

intellectuals. The Australian-based scholar of Vietnam, David Marr (1981,

1971) has provided detailed research on this resistance movement and the
related growing role of Vietnamese intellectuals. He calls this period of Viet-
namese history (1920–1945) a “time of profound economic and social change
(Marr, 1981, p. 52). Among the most prominent Vietnamese intellectuals
influential in this important process of social change were Nguyen Truong
To (1827–1871), Phan Boi Chau (1867–1940), Pham Quynh (1892–1945), and
Phan Chu Trinh (1872–1926). Their individual strategies and tactics varied
significantly. Phan Boi Chau, the most radical of the group, supported the
idea of armed resistance. Phan Chu Trinh advocated non-violent political
agitation (Marr, 1981, p. 20) and became a popular orator. He saw the great
significance of quoc ngu in accelerating the process of social and political
change through the vehicle of both the press and novels (Pham, unpublished
MA thesis).
These intellectuals were also influenced by important changes in the
region, particularly Japan and China. Phan Boi Chau, inspired by the Meiji
reforms in Japan, arranged for Vietnamese young people to study in Japan.
This process became extremely threatening to the French and they asked
Japan to expel most of these students (McConnell, 1989, p. 7). Chinese
intellectuals and nationalists in their reaction against the rule of imperial
China also provided inspiring examples of nationalism and resistance. With
the growing influence of the quoc ngu simplified writing in Vietnam, it
was easy to translate radicalizing works from Chinese and Japanese into
Vietnamese. Interestingly by the early 1930s the modern Vietnamese novel
was seen as powerful force for social revolution (Woodside, 1976, p. 87).
During the 1920s and 1930s there was an explosion of writings in Vietnam-
ese. Hundreds of periodicals were published and some 10,000 books and
pamphlets were published during the period, 1923–1944 (Heidhues, 2000,
p. 123). Marr (1981, p. 175) describes this remarkable phenomenon:
While the intelligentsia experimented with new language forms, the Vietnamese public at
large developed a thirst for reading and writing unmatched anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

As part of their educational program, the reformists established the influ-

ential Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc School (Eastern Capital Non-Tuition School)
in Hanoi (see Marr, 1971, pp. 164–165). Marr (p. 164) argues that this school
was “in the broadest sense a popular educational and cultural movement of real
significance to subsequent Vietnamese history.” This school, through its publi-
cation program in quoc ngu actively disseminated the writings of Montesquie,
Rousseau, Spencer, and Chinese reformists (Pham, unpublished MA thesis). It
provided a progressive example of relevant and practical education oriented to
social and political change. It also provided educational and intellectual oppor-
tunities for women. For obvious reasons, it was closed by the French in 1908
and its leaders sent to Conlon prison.
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 205

Ngo Vinh Long (1973) in his valuable anthology, Before the Revolution:
The Vietnamese Peasants under the French, provides examples of Vietnamese
writings on social change in the 1920s and 1930s. These documents (trans-
lated into English) present a devastating indigenous critique of French rule
and its ubiquitous social and economic injustices. Ngo, in describing the
elitist educational system under the French states that “as a result only
rich landlords, magistrates, and government employees living in the cities
could afford to send their children to the superior primary schools” (Ngo,
1973, p. 75). Ngo also documents the system of onerous taxes, the unjust
landlord system, and the horrific and unexcusable famine of 1944–1945
(Tran, 1956).

Study Abroad and Its Influence on Social and Political Change

Within the French colonial structure, there was contentious debate as
to whether giving the Vietnamese greater access to higher education
would make them more “talented collaborators or more committed rebels”
(McConnell, 1989, p. 27). Harmand (1910) in his popular, volume, Dom-
ination et Colonisation, emphasized the dangers inherent in allowing Viet-
namese greater access to higher education (McConnell, 1989, p. 9).
Despite French concerns related to the political effects of providing higher
education to Vietnamese, the 1920s saw increasing numbers of Vietnamese stu-
dents going to France. Governor Le Myre de Vilers (1908) favored “sending
the best to France, whence they would return to their native land ‘impregnated
in some degree by the French national genius and informed on the founda-
tions and the superstructure of French civilization” (Leconfield, 1933, p. 173).
Scott McConnell, who conducted an extensive study of the political and social
implications of Vietnamese study in France, concludes that “on balance, the
impact that France had on the students was destructive to the maintenance of
French rule in Indochina” (p. 27). The most dramatic example of the unan-
ticipated consequences of overseas experience was in the remarkable life of
Ho Chi Minh himself, who had an amazing array of international experiences
during the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s which took him not only to France but also
to the USSR, England, the US, China, Siam, and many other countries in Asia
and Africa (Duiker, 2000). Ho’s extensive and diverse overseas experiences cer-
tainly helped inspire his nationalist fervor and dedication to overthrow French
pham chat, kha nang
colonial rule. It also established his credentials as a multi-lingual charismatic,
talented, and inspiring leader/educator. In Ho’s early writings in the 1920s in
France, his major theme “was the West’s systematic betrayal of its own eigh-
teenth-century Enlightenment in its colonies” (Woodside, 2000, p. 116).
The combination of French repression and injustices, the long Vietnamese
tradition of resistance to external rule, the flourishing of venacular writings in
Vietnamese raising broad political and social consciousness, the emergence of
206 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

powerful and dynamic nationalist leaders such as Ho Chi Minh provided the
basis for Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945 and the
establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Cold War Internationalism

Immediately following the end of World War II, Vietnam became drawn
into the vortex of the Cold War. France would not accept a social-
ist Democratic Republic of Vietnam, but wanted instead to return to
reestablish its colonies in the area. President Truman totally ignored Ho
Chi Minh’s overtures to cooperate peacefully with the US within a frame-
work of independence for Vietnam. This led to the French War in Viet-
collapse
nam, 1945–1954, which ended in the French debacle at Dien Bien Phu
(Grey, 1983, pp. 379–382). During this period, the elitist French colonial
education system describe earlier was reestablished.
Following the Geneva agreements of 1954, Vietnam was divided into
North and South Vietnam. The latter quickly became a client state of the
US and socialist North Vietnam received assistance from the USSR, China,
and the Eastern block. The US involvement in South Vietnam (Republic
of South Vietnam), led to major changes in the educational system. One
critic referred to Vietnamese universities as being museums (Green, 1973,
p. 50). The US emphasized devoting greater budgets to education, making
it less elite, expanding higher education, and having education at all lev-
els become more practical. With respect to the expansion of higher educa-
tion, enrollments increased dramatically from only 5300 in 1957 to 64,000
in 1973 (Green, 1973, p. 2). The US was also open to much greater utili-
zation of Vietnamese as the language of instruction and the development
of instructional materials in Vietnamese. The US had two basic goals (one
overt and one covert) with respect to its education program in Vietnam.
The first overt goal was to reform the educational system so as to pro-
vide significantly greater access and practical training to facilitate Vietnam-
ese economic development. This would, in turn, contribute to “winning the
hearts and minds of the people”, integral to winning the Cold War. Reflec-
tive of this commitment were the many scholarships received by South
Vietnamese to study in institutions of higher education in the US. Also, the
South Vietnamese government itself by the middle of 1972 was subsidiz-
ing almost 6000 students abroad (Green, 1973, p. 54). Also reflective of this
commitment was the US role in fostering the expansion of universities and
the development of a new community college system (August 1971 decree
of the Prime Minister) (Green, 1973, p. 63). Unfortunately, the chaos of
the war and related diversion of expenditures to military and security activ-
ities adversely affected the implementation of such lofty goals (Lavergne
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 207

& Adams, 1954, p. 14). The covert goal, which led to considerable
controversy as the anti-war movement grew in the US, was to assist the
South Vietnamese regime, including its army and police, in fighting com-
munism and resistance to the US backed regime. In this arena, the US was
providing strong support to a clearly unpopular and corrupt regime and
engaging in disturbing hypocrisy (see Chomsky, 2003a, b, 2005).
Within South Vietnam itself during this period, there was a significant
movement oriented to promoting social change. These were politically and
socially engaged Buddhists. They were primarily dedicated to providing
social service to the poor and ending the war.

Vietnamese Education and Social Change after National Reunification,

1975-Present

The 1975–1986 Period

After reunification in 1975, Vietnam faced many difficulties. The country
had been at war for 30 years. The consequences of the war were tragically
severe with the loss of 3.4 million Vietnamese lives (Morris, 2003). In addi-
tion, the country faced an economic embargo. What was worse, the border
wars with China in the North and the Khmer Rouge in the Southwest left
the Vietnamese exhausted. The conflict with the Khmer Rouge lasted until
1989. Also with a centralized planned economy Vietnam had to subsidize
its regime. That pushed Vietnam into a serious socioeconomic crisis. The
economy stagnated while inflation rocketed. Intellectual values and work
were not respected. For example, the cost of an appendix’s operation by a
skilled physician was equal to that of repairing a bicycle tube! Understand-
ably many educated people emigrated to other countries. After the collapse
of the Soviet Union, the Vietnamese began to rethink seriously their own
future and their political economy strategies.
In the early phase of the reunification period, education was in a cha-
otic situation resulting from complexities in integrating different types of
educational systems such as that of the South, that of the North, and the
former liberation areas, into a new unified system. Despite lacking facili-
ties and teachers, the general education system was extended to a 12-year
program for everyone and Vietnam established a unified system of educa-
tion in two years during 1976 and 1977. It also carried out another major
educational reform in the period, 1979–1980. An approach termed “myria-
pod” was implemented. It meant that every year there would be one sub-
ject (program or curriculum) to be reformed which would be utilized for
the following ten years. The old universities and colleges were transformed,
including obsolete community colleges. As a result, two new universities
208 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

Table 1
Economic growth of Vietnam, 1991–2002.

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

5.81 8.70 8.08 8.83 9.54 9.34 8.15 5.76 4.77 6.75 6.80 7.02

(Danang and Hue) were founded. All private schools and universities were
abolished. Unfortunately, this educational reform came to naught due to
the serious socioeconomic crisis. The worsening situation of the economy
had led to a serious and dramatic deterioration of local education. The
living situations for teachers became so bad that many teachers had to
abandon their schools (approximately 30% of the total). The quality of
schools became obviously problematic. This crisis in education was affect-
ing the nature of social life throughout the country (Le, 2003).
After 1982, the Vietnamese leadership noted the problems of weakness
and quickly looked for an alternative, which came later to be known as
“doi moi”, promulgated at the Sixth Communist Party Congress in 1986,
and Vietnam then moved into a new era of market-oriented socialism.

The Period of the Innovation “Doi Moi”

Since 1986 a profound socioeconomic policy change has taken place in
Vietnam: the transition from a planned to a market economy (Thanyathip,
1998). Thus, Vietnam has become one of the many economies now classi-
fied as a transitional economy. From 1991–2002, the average GDP per year
of Vietnam increased steadily as indicated in Table 1.
Interestingly labor contributed about 60–65% to this increase GDP. Viet-
nam has had considerable success, especially in increasing the size of the
education sector. In terms of social change, there is also evidence that the
introduction of doi moi has contributed to the development of an indepen-
dent civil society in Vietnam (Dalton & Ong, 2003, p. 11).

The Renovation Construct in the Education Sector

In general, the education sector has been through a great change in terms
of its operation, from a slow and retrograded situation during the late
1980s to a quick recovery and rapid development in the 1990s.
In 1987, the Higher Education Department started renovation in four
major areas. In the 1989, the General Education Department also pro-
posed ten basic guidelines for reform. This included establishing a flexible,
multiform educational system that could respond to the various changing
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 209

demands of the society. Its aim in the short run was to improve the living
conditions for teachers and in the long run the goals were to resolve the
tension between meeting the demands of development and generating the
financial capability for supporting Vietnamese education. The purpose of
educational renovation during this period was to change the thinking sys-
tem from a planning to a market-based model. There were many contentious
debates among scholars and policy makers. There were fears that such ren-
ovation would bring an end to socialism and its ideals, which had been
fought for during years of revolution. Some, though in favor of renovation,
believed that the reforms should be limited only to the economy. Others
preferred to retain the subsidies system for education to ensure equity in
the people’s right to receive education. Certainly the successful implementa-
tion of doi moi and its adoption in education forced a significant change in
the way of thinking and doing things in the education sector. Further, the
world situation was changing. The old socialist system was collapsing. The
influence of Soviet education diminished over time. Vietnam found it was
time to define its own way to develop. Ultimately, the renovation changed
the structures of old educational systems and the university and a new type
of system began to evolve.
Among five key elements of educational renovation implemented in
Vietnam were:
(1) There was a move away from narrow specialization to allow for
broader and multiple academic fields and related professions.
(2) There was a move away from a subsidies regime with no tuition fees
for any student to a system with tuition fees and related cost recovery
possibilities.
(3) The second language shifted from Russian and Chinese to English in
all universities and colleges.
(4) Universities were allowed to have greater autonomy.
(5) Private higher education was allowed and subsequently has developed
rapidly see (Sloper & Le, 1995; Pham & Fry, 2002), reflecting global
trends of the increasing privatization of higher education.

The Situation and Change in the Education Sector after 1990

At the 7th and 13th Sessions of the Party Congress, the educational policies
of the state were clearly articulated. The major basic policy is to strengthen
the country’s education system to facilitate both industrialization and mod-
ernization through the processes of market mechanisms and international
integration. A new Education Law was approved by the National Assem-
bly, which has become a legal basis for developing the education system
and strengthening the state management and coordination of educational
activities. The education sector has formed a new management structure for
210 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

diversification, socialization, and democratization of education and integra-

tion into the regional and international education systems. A new structure of
national education was established, which is comprehensive, clear, and unani-
mously approved for implementation throughout the country. In addition, the
types of schools have been diversified as well as methods of education, with the
school network expanding all over the country.
Under a stable political environment, the country has enjoyed solid and
remarkable economic growth with improving living standards. The compet-
itive dimensions of a market economy, with both rewards and sanctions,
and related price mechanism have encouraged the studiousness and indus-
try of the local people. This has stimulated people, especially the youth, to
study actively and to seek opportunities to enhance their competitive skills
and competencies.

Financial Aspects of Vietnamese Education

The total expenditures for education has increased from VND 7,100 bil-
lion (10.08% of the national budget) in 1996 to VND 17,311 billion (17%
of the national budget) in 2002. The budget is projected to increase to be
18% of the national budget in 2005 and 22% by 2010. The current bud-
get for education represents 4.5% of GDP. These data clearly indicate that
the Vietnam Government has encouraged education but it is still limited by
shortages of national budget. Given such budget constraints at the national
level, it is important to encourage local communities and areas to develop
their own funds in support of education. The educational network has been
consolidated. There are a total of 35,239 educational institutions, includ-
ing 13,934 primary schools, 9362 lower secondary schools, 1966 upper sec-
ondary schools, 252 vocational secondary schools, 114 senior colleges, and
109 universities. The private institution system has been established and is
developing at every level. Currently 34% of upper secondary schools are
private and 10.8% of institutions of higher education are private.

Academic Programs and Curricula

The curricula for primary education were implemented and other curricula
have been written. The extent of curricula is still inadequate for all people,
especially those in remote areas and of diverse ethnic backgrounds (Do, 1998;
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, 1998; Khong, 2002). In higher education,
there were two kinds of doctoral degrees (Associate Doctor and Doctor of
Science) in a Soviet style system from 1976 to 2000. There was only one
level of doctor (PhD). In 1991, Vietnamese universities and colleges began
to introduce new degrees into the system such as the title of Master (thac si)
according to the US system. Currently Vietnam has over 10,000 individuals
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 211

with a master’s degree and 13,500 with doctorates. 1.3 million individuals
have completed undergraduate degrees. From 1976, the state adopted the
system with the ranks of Professor and Associate Professor. In 2003, Viet-
nam has 1039 professors and 3954 associate professors.

The Development of Students

Since 1990, the size of the education sector has increased, but the quality
of schools is still problematic. In the 2001–2002 academic year, Vietnam’s
educational sector had a total student population of 23 million, an impres-
sive increase of 24% compared to the year, 1995–1996. Among such stu-
dents, 2.5 million are in pre-primary education, 18 million in primary and
secondary education, 271,000 in vocational secondary education, 800,000
in vocational education, one million students in higher education, and
400,000 students in various forms of non-formal education. Compared with
the academic year of 1995–1996, the number of secondary and higher edu-
cation students increased three-fold. The current literacy rate is an impres-
sive 94%.

Teaching Staff
The total number of teachers is 865,485 an increase of 24% since the 1995–
1996 academic year. However, with the current size of the general edu-
cational sector, Vietnam lacks about 10,000 teachers. In the universities,
most of the excellent well trained lecturers are old. The average age of pro-
fessors and associate professors is 56. Young lecturers are still lacking in
experience and some of them are attracted away by much higher salaries
offered by private companies (Pham & Fry, 2002). In addition, the quality
of teachers is still limited as shown by their level of formal academic qual-
ifications. At the secondary level, 79.2% of teachers have completed higher
education. For higher education, only 13.8% of those teaching hold doc-
torates and 56.6 have only bachelor’s level training.

The Quality of Vietnamese Higher Education

The quality of Vietnamese higher education is still problematic both
according to the official evaluation and public opinion. At present, there
is no fixed standard to evaluate students’ educational quality. One way to
evaluate the quality of students is to ascertain their ability to find jobs after
graduation. Statistically, about 75% students can find jobs, but some jobs
are not related to the nature of their prior training (about 50% accord-
ing to data from the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Department, 2002). Some
students are jobless although the market is still in need of more skilled
personnel in certain areas. Thus, there exists a gap between the training
212 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

provided by institutions of higher education and the needs of the larger

society and economy.
One way to evaluate the quality of students is their performance in
the entrance examinations to universities/colleges. It is quite alarming in
this sense according to the recent year trend, that is, only a few students
can perform barely above the average (10–15% in the year 2001–2003,
MOET). Many students can manage to get into colleges/universities as a
result of the priority enrollment policies of the state. In the year 2002,
there were 169,571 applicants who were accepted at undergraduate institu-
tions. Among them, 67,139 students benefited from the priority policy, a
legacy of the period of the subsidies regime and its focus on distributive
justice (MOET). Teachers and lecturers often complain about the quality
of pupils and students. The blame for this problem is attributed to many
factors, such as poor facilities, shortage of teachers, curricula (both qual-
ity and quantity), and irrational programs. Sauvageau (unpublished doc-
toral dissertation) also notes the serious problem of the underfunding of
the country’s universities.

Major Challenges Facing Vietnamese Education

The renovation and its achievements have, at the same time, created many
challenges for Vietnamese education thus far. Six major weaknesses related
to this renovation can be summarized as follows:

(1) In general, quality is still low. The educational system does not keep
abreast with the advanced level of the region and the world. Also,
it does not adequately meet the needs from different branches of the
market economy as well the modern society (MOET, 2002). The abil-
ity and creativity of pupils and students after graduation is limited.
(2) There is weakness in planning the school network, construction of
schools, the development of non-public schools, and division of author-
ity and responsibilities (Pham, 1999)
(3) The management structure is top-heavy and lacks effectiveness (MOET,
2002).
(4) Many of both the management and teaching staff have not met
requirements arising during the renovation period. The quality of
teachers is limited, especially with regard to their level of foreign lan-
guage abilities and related lack of access to current information (Pham,
1999). Thus, it should not be surprising that many teachers cannot use
new teaching methods.
(5) The preparation of teaching staff is still not synchronous. For exam-
ple, there are shortages of teachers for some new science and technol-
ogy curricula, and teachers for serving in remote areas (MOET, 2002).
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 213

(6) Many facilities are still poor and backwards, lagging 20% behind needs.
There are 72,864 temporary classrooms. There are also serious short-
ages of laboratories, computers, and learning materials, representing a
formidable challenge in terms of reaching modern standards.
(7) Education is still developing in an environment with an ineffective and
incomplete legal system (Pham, 1999).
During the past 15 years, despite the influence of the economic renovation
policy, the education sector has been characterized by inertia. Serious weak-
nesses still persist. There are a number of reasons: Vietnam is still an extremely
poor country, which suffered over 30 years of war, which adversely affected the
development of its infrastructure, both physical and human.
With the restructuring of the Vietnamese economy with an emphasis on
free market mechanisms, the role of the state has diminished. The delay in
the reform of the state’s administration in the renovation of economic and
financial management, as well as labor and salary policies, have also had a
negative impact on the development of education (MOET, 2002).

An Overall Assessment of Vietnamese Education

Vietnamese education can be assessed by looking at its success in achieving
three aims:
(1) Increasing knowledge of the people
(2) Training skilled labor resources
(3) Fostering and encouraging the development of talent

Increasing knowledge of the people

The campaign to eliminate illiteracy represents a significant success of Viet-
namese education. In 1945 –1946, over 2.5 million people were illiterate. In
1950, there were 10 million illiterates and the decade 1990–2000 was desig-
nated as the “decade of education for every one” (Jomtien World Declara-
tion on Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand, 1990). In August, 1991, the
National Assembly made primary general education compulsory for every-
one. On December 28, 2000, Vietnam announced its achievement of the
national aim of anti-illiteracy and compulsory primary education. Thus,
the index of education of Vietnam is significantly higher than for other
countries at the same economic level. Dang Quoc Bao (1999) in his study
of education and development finds that in terms of international compar-
isons, Vietnam’s education development index stands at a reasonable level,
but its economic development index is still quite low.
Another important sociocultural issue related to education is Vietnam’s
ethnic diversity. Vietnam has 54 ethnic nationalities totaling approximately
20 million people (about 25% of the population) (Do, 1998; Khong, 2002;
214 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

Engelbert, 2002). Improving the quality of life and standard of living for
these diverse groups is currently a problem. The state has policies to sup-
port them by providing education, giving priority for ethnic students in
admissions, encouraging teachers to move from cities to remote mountain-
ous areas, opening more schools, and providing subsidies for them. There
are over 200 schools with 60,000 ethnic pupils. That is an extremely small
number, considering that their population size is roughly 20 million people.
However, because of their poverty and their living in remote mountainous
areas, they lack teachers, facilities, and appropriate curricula. Another sig-
nificant problem for such pupils is that many of them cannot speak Viet-
namese. There has been experimentation with the use of boarding schools
as a way to find a cost-effective way to serve these students, but that raises
other serious issues related to separation from families and communities.

Training labor resources

Numerous experts of agencies such as the World Bank and Asian Devel-
opment Bank have emphasized the importance of human resource develop-
ment. Successful transitions from subsistence to modern agriculture, from
basic industry to higher technology, from manufacturing to provision of
services, all depend on the quality of human capital. Experience clearly
demonstrates that investment in education (especially in basic education)
is a prerequisite for economic development, and that continuing invest-
ment in educational quality at all levels, together with development of
appropriate skills for the workforce, is prerequisite for continuing economic
growth. Work force skill development facilitates the shift to higher-order
technology, improves productivity, and helps to maintain economic com-
petitiveness. Higher education sharpens the cutting edge of development by
fostering capacity for innovative research, strengthening higher-level man-
agement skills, and enhancing local research and development capacity.
Vietnam is looking for the way to become an industrial country within
the next two decades. To attain this target, fundamental changes are needed
in the economic and employment structure with the proportion of agricul-
ture reduced to 30% of GDP in 2020. The proportion of agricultural work-
ers in the social labor force is expected to decrease from 70% now to 25%
in 2020. In other words, Vietnam will shift from being a predominantly
agricultural society to becoming more of an industrial, service, and infor-
mation economy.
In recent years, the industry and construction was 37% of GDP in 2000
compared to only 23% in 1990, while agriculture, forestry, and fishing were
39%, declining to 24% of GDP 2000. In 10 years, the number of employed
people increased from 28.8 million (1989) to 35.8 million (1999), while gov-
ernment employees have declined from 14.5% (1989) to 9.8% (1999), and
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 215
Table 2
Changing structure of the Vietnamese labor market.

2000 2005 Annual % growth

Labor Force (millions) 38.6 43.6 2.5

Employment (millions) 36.2 41.2 2.6
Of which is in: agriculture 22.7 20.7 −1.8
State sector 3.6 3.6 0.0
International 0.3 0.7 18.5
Formal Private 1.0 2.5 9.8
Informal/Household 8.6 13.7 9.8

Source: Dapice, based on data from the Statistical Publishing

House, 2000.

the proportion in state-owned enterprises (SOE) fell from 55% to 27%.

These data reflect important administrative and economic transitions, but
the workforce by economic sector has changed relatively little, despite the
impact of rapid economic growth (Holsinger, 2003). Thus, education and
training have not adequately mirrored changes in the economic structure
and related labor markets.
The Fulbright specialist in Vietnam, Professor David Dapice (2002),
reflecting on the future structure of the Vietnamese economy states:
With the SOE sector providing only 5% of jobs and likely to shrink, there is no question
of the government being able to provide jobs directly. They will have to come from the pri-
vate sector, both domestic and foreign. The international sector with 300,000 workers (2000)
would do very well to double its workforce over the next five years. The formal private sec-
tor had one million workers in 2000 and 20% employment growth would add 300,000 jobs a
year to 2005. This leaves the 8.6 million in informal and household sector jobs in 2000 and
that sector will have to absorb the rest. (Very few will migrate abroad). But productive job
growth in the informal sector largely mirrors the overall rate of economic growth. Vietnam
needs 8–9% growth just to keep opportunities growing nearly as fast as likely entering work-
ers in that sector.

Table 2 provides illustrative calculations of what negative job growth in

agriculture and zero job growth in the state sector imply in term of the
other sectors.
Dapice finds the data in Table 2 alarming. With declining employment
in agriculture and no growth in the state sector, there is enormous pressure
on the other sectors to provide increased employment opportunities. Thus,
Dapice is pessimistic that there will be adequate job growth in the next
five to ten years even if these other sectors do extremely well. The planned
closure or conversion of state owned enterprises will further aggravate the
situation. Thus, unemployment may rise faster than expected.
216 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

Other problem still exists. This is the significant gap between those in
the countryside and urban areas in terms of skill levels. In July, 2002,
Vietnam had 40.7 million individuals in its labor force (76.1% of whom
were in the countryside). Thus, there are six times more individuals work-
ing in countryside than in urban areas. However, the rate of trained labor
with over secondary secondary education in the urban areas is three times
higher than in the countryside. Also, trained labor represents 19.62% of
the total labor force, but among that group only 11.89% is in the coun-
tryside (Pham, 2003). Also, only 8.1% of students are from agricultural
backgrounds, even though the country remains a predominantly agricul-
tural country. Many main export products are from agriculture such as
rice, fruit, and fish. In fact, Vietnam is now the world’s second leading rice
exporter, a major economic accomplishment. Overall, however, the quality
of Vietnamese export products is well below potential with adverse conse-
quences for the competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy.
Thus, it is critical to have growth in GDP as rapid in this current decade
as was achieved in the last one, but with more employment intensity in
the non-farm sectors, because agriculture is no longer contributing to job
growth, as it did prior to 1996. The goals of poverty alleviation, reasonable
equity in job opportunities, and avoidance of social evils all depend on the
ability of the state to create appropriate and favorable conditions for both
informal and formal sector private firms.

Discovering and Fostering the Development of Talent

Vietnam has directed attention to discover and train talent. In the system
of secondary and high schools, there exist special schools or special clas-
ses for excellent students. The two national universities of Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City have opened classes for high quality engineering and
special students. Vietnamese students have actively participated in the
“International Olympiad Competitions” in fields such as mathematics,
computer science, physics, and languages. They have won an impressive
number of awards which has brought glory to Vietnam. Over the last sev-
eral decades they have won 137 medals in mathematics and 65 in physics.
In international universities, Vietnamese students have performed well.
However, the talents of such individuals are not necessarily fostered
after graduation, thus, contributing to the problem of “brain drain”
(Teekens, 2002). The country lacks mechanisms and policies to ensure
effective utilization of highly talented scientists and professionals (Pham,
2003). Thus, there is a shortage of top-level talent in a number of academic
specializations, which adversely affects every level of education.
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 217

Influence of the USSR and former socialist countries on Vietnamese

education
Since the 1950s, China and Russia helped the Vietnamese education sig-
nificantly. After 1960, all socialist countries (the USSR, the countries of
Eastern Europe, China, and Cuba) offered training to Vietnamese students
both at the undergraduate and graduate level. The program of Vietnamese
education was modified and influenced by the Russian model (cf. Christy,
unpublished doctoral dissertation). Support from the socialist countries in
the educational area helped Vietnam overcome the difficulties of poverty,
the war conditions, and to build a new educational system in support of
socialist transformation and nation building.
The Russian education was advanced with high academic standards, espe-
cially in fields such as mathematics, the natural sciences, medicine, linguis-
tics, and engineering. The focus, however, was narrow specialization. It was
suitable for a subsidies regime in which every student (after graduation) was
guaranteed a position by the state plan. But now, with market mechanisms
in place, all students must find jobs by themselves. It is difficult for them, if
their academic training has been too narrow and may be unrelated to cur-
rent market needs. Also, training in the social sciences under the Russian
influenced system was often obsolete and overly ideological.

Influence of the United States

Vietnamese education in South Vietnam was influenced strongly by US
education after the academic year 1971–1972. The educational program
for Vietnam was developed with US advice from 1955–1969, but in 1969–
1971 was implemented in part and expanded to all of South Vietnam after
1972 with 2500 US educational advisors present. US style curricula were
promoted suitable for a market economy. However, the program was only
partially implemented. After reunification, Vietnamese education used the
12-year program to change her old programs. At the undergraduate and
graduate levels, some US curricula are currently introduced and taught to
Vietnamese students. English is the main foreign language in every school
and university now, facilitating Vietnamese students being able to develop
contacts and linkages with US education and institutions.
Vietnamese education has been influenced by many other countries in the
process of its development. However, Vietnam is committed to try to build
its own distinctive education system that draws selectively on the experiences
of other countries. Together with the development of socio-economy in the
transition stage, Vietnam has been rebuilding its own educational system,
and successful implementation of that process will facilitate integration with
higher education in other countries of the region and the world.
218 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

The Impact of Globalization on Vietnamese Education

The trend of globalization has created an “international educational mar-
ket”. Thus, schools and universities should have training programs, facilities,
and teaching staff meeting international standards. In the field of educa-
tion, Vietnam currently has relationships and cooperation with 69 countries,
19 international organizations, and 70 NGOs. Such international relation-
ships have contributed to improved facilities, modernized content and pro-
grams, and new training methodologies. Scholars have received training
and improved their management ability. The educational sector has sought
funding from international agencies such as the World Bank and Asian
Development and from bilateral overseas development assistance to build
primary schools and some special institutions. There are, for example, three
projects in primary education with participation of almost all 61 provinces,
with funding from UNICEF, the World Bank, ODA-Japan, respectively.
Vietnam is now encouraging study overseas, though perhaps without full
awareness of possible unanticipated social and political consequences when
those students return in large numbers. There has been a great diversity in
the placement of students (17,000 in total from 1987–2000) supported both
by Vietnamese state funds and international funding (Russia and Eastern
Europe 53%, Western Europe 30%, Australia-New Zealand 7%, other parts
of Asia 7%, and America–Canada 1%). Vietnam has also worked out new
alternative arrangements for studying overseas. Study overseas is attractive
to Vietnamese students and their parents.
To guide students for study overseas, there are about 100 consultant
companies registered with the Vietnam International Education Consul-
tants Association (VIECA).
As part of its internationalization thrust, Vietnam also organizes many
international conferences and workshops. Several years ago, Vietnam was
host, for example, to the major international Francophone Conference.
Vietnam also welcomes many volunteer teachers, as well as interna-
tional experts, scholars, and students. This trend has helped to enhance
the international dimensions of Vietnamese education with students hav-
ing the opportunity to interact with international students and schol-
ars. With respect to this internationalization thrust, Vietnam has one
extremely important special advantage. A journalist writing in The Econ-
omist notes that “one way or another, the Vietnamese are probably the
most multilingual nation in Asia” (“Speaking volumes in Vietnam”, 1993,
p. 28).
With respect to the future, Vietnam has articulated a clear strategy for
the development of Vietnamese education over the next 20 years. Three
key themes are standardization, modernization, and socialization. Central
to the strategy is a focus on raising the quality of its general labor force
 EDUCATION ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN VIETNAM 219
Table 3
Future major strategies and targets of Vietnamese education.

Key Indicators 2000 2010 2020

Literacy rate (%) 94 97 99
Percent of age group in kindergarden 42 52 70
Percent of age group in primary school 90 95 97
Percent of age group in lower secondary school 65 88 95
Percent of age group in upper secondary school (%) 25 40 50
Percent of age group in secondary professional school 7.0 15 30
Number of university students per 10,000 of population 117 200 300
Percent of the labor force that is trained 22 42 80
Number of master’s level students 11,727 38,000
Number of doctor’s level students 3,870 15,000
Source: MOET, 2000.

and its teaching force. Renovation and innovation is important at all levels
of education. Changes are needed in aims, methodologies/pedagogies, and
programs/curricula. Table 3 summarizes some of the key quantitative goals
integral to Vietnam’s future strategy to develop and enhance the quality of
its educational system. The socialization goal relates to the preservation of
key elements of Vietnamese culture and society and the avoidance among
the nation’s youth of various social evils often associated with the rapid
forces of globalization and popular culture.
The explicit quantitative goals indicated above are reflective of the basic
future trends in Vietnam’s education. These five basic trends and principles
are:
(1) Quality education is not reserved for a rich privileged elite, but should
be provided to all Vietnamese.
(2) Education does not end with the completion of formal schooling. Also
important is a commitment to life-long education.
(3) The state legal system as it relates to education must be completed
along with the issuance of a new National Law on Education.
(4) The educational system must be continually adapted to be responsive
to the requirements of economic development and the larger society.
(5) It is important that the Vietnamese educational system be integrated
into the regional and international education systems so that Vietnam-
ese degrees and related training will be accepted and recognized inter-
nationally.

Conclusion

Serious study of the changing and evolving role of education in Vietnam is

central to understanding Vietnam’s past, present, and future. As indicated
220 PHAM LAN HUONG AND GERALD W. FRY

in the analyses of this chapter, education has been a powerful force for
socioeconomic and political change in Vietnam, particularly in the 20th
century when Vietnam was finally reunified in 1975 under a socialist model.
But at the same time education has been a force to sustain and preserve
the richness of traditional Vietnamese culture. Reflective of this pattern
is the persistence, for example, of the universal study of the classic epic
poem, Tale of Kieu, by Nguyen Du (1983), which articulates many funda-
mental Vietnamese cultural values. Education and human resource develop-
ment are also critical to achievement of a new future vision for Vietnam,
a modern industrial state, active in important international regimes. For
example, Vietnam is now a member (since 1995) of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia–Pacific Economic Coop-
eration forum (APEC) (since 1998). If Vietnam can enhance and strengthen
the quality of its human resources, it has excellent potential to become
a successful and competitive Asia-Pacific economy following the path
achieved previously by such countries as Singapore and Korea. Comment-
ing optimistically on Vietnam’s future prospects, (Lamb, 2002) states:
Yet the Vietnamese have always had staying power and been good at capitalizing on oppor-
tunity; their country brims with potential.

Kamm (1996) describes Vietnam as an “ascending dragon.” Vietnam is

deeply committed to achieving a distinctive genre of political economy, a
“socialism that works” (Nair, 1976) and which balances the best of social-
ism and capitalism that places at the center the socioeconomic welfare,
including access to quality education, of individuals and their families.

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