I had a chance to read an article from a Vietnamese online magazine, VietnamNet, and the title immediately caught my eyes: "Billions of US dollars outflows to fund Vietnamese students' overseas study". According to the article, Vietnamese spend billions of US dollars a year to fund their children to study abroad. In 2010-2011, Vietnam had 98,536 students studying abroad while the figure jumped to 106,104 in the 2011-2012 academic year. More and more Vietnamese apply for studying at the schools in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Singapore in which the United States is the world's leading host of Vietnamese students. And, amazingly, Vietnam ranks 8th among all countries sending young people to study in America. It is estimated that Vietnamese spend US$10,000-$15,000 a year on an average at a foreign school (I personally do not think this number is correct, it is much more than that). As such, Vietnamese have to remit at least $1-1.5 billion abroad every year to fund the study courses abroad.
A lot of students, especially the ones in big cities, plan to studying abroad right after they go to high schools. Some of them try to apply for scholarships to lessen the financial burden for their families. Meanwhile, others would rather go abroad with their own fund than studying at domestic schools. Here are the reasons for the popularity of overseas study:
- A higher education system faced with formidable challenges
- A situation in which demand outstrips supply
- A growing ability to pay
- The prestige and marketability of a foreign degree
An official from the Ministry of Finance stated that Vietnamese tend to go studying abroad because they believe that they can receive higher education quality, the thing they would not achieve in Vietnam.
According to a survey conducted by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in Vietnam in 2009 to students of IIE-Vietnam, the United States is the first choice destination for overseas study. Below is a summary of their positive and negative perceptions about studying in the US:
· Scientifically and technologically advanced country
· Wide range of schools and programs
· Excellent higher education system
· Fun place to study
· Welcomes international students
· Scholarship opportunities
· High cost (tuition/cost of living)
· Difficult or complicated visa procedures
· Dangerous or violent society
· Long or complicated school application process
· Too many cultural differences
Thank you for sharing this! It was very interesting to read about the reasons why Vietnamese students choose to study abroad. Does the Vietnamese government provide a lot of scholarships for foreign study? Or maybe, do Vietnamese businesses finance abroad study for their employees?
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Vietnam is experiencing "brain drain" with the students not returning home after earning their degree?
And I agree with you that the number spent on tuition seems off. Unless a majority of the students are attending junior colleges and community colleges that have lower tuition.
Hi Megan, Thanks for the comment. Vietnamese government has some kinds of funds to sponsor state workers to get a Master's or doctoral degrees. In addition, the majority of graduates students try to get a scholarship funded by both non government organizations and government orgs. to study abroad. In contrast, Vietnamese undergraduates usually pay tuition by their parents who could afford a very expensive tuition fee. The majority of graduates come back after graduation since they are mature, and still have their family back there (wife, husband, children) and before they study abroad, they have to sign a memo with their parent institutions saying that they would come back and work at least five years in their previous institutions before allowing to move to another place. It is not the case for undergraduates. Since their parents pay for their tuition, these students will not be forced to come back. As a result, experiencing brain drain is invevitable. However, American government also has a very strict policy for foreigners. After graduation, aliens are allowed to stay up to a year called OPT to find a job. By the end of the OPT period, if they are not sponsored by an local company/ institution to get a working visa, they are not allowed to stay legally.
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