VietNamNet Bridge – No investment capital from the state, no support in land allocation for head offices, no personnel receiving pay from the state budget, but a lot of non-state science institutions show that they have been operating very well and they are in no way inferior to the organizations funded by the State.

Of the currently operational 593 non-state organizations (institutions 81 for short), 330 belong to the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA). They have been struggling to live and carry out scientific research without the support from the State. Meanwhile, 60,000 Vietnamese businesses have reportedly gone bankrupted in the economic recession.

State funded multi-billion dong research works put in mothballs

There are numerous research works worth billions of dong funded by the State which have fallen into oblivion after they were introduced to scientists at ceremonies, simply because they do not have much significance in reality.

In the central province of Quang Ngai, for example, in 2006-2010, the provincial people’s committee approved the implementation of 71 research works which received VND38 billion dong from the state budget.

Of these, four projects stopped implementation, 10 other projects were late, while the other tens of projects have been accepted but they have not been brought into life.

The State’s money has been wasted in many projects. Ly Thu Trang, an officer in charge of running the fund for helping reduce poverty and eradicate hunger in HCM City took VND820 million from the fund to throw into gambling. This was a typical example showing that in many cases, the state’s money could not go to the right addresses.

Duong Thi Kim Lien, an officer in district 6 of HCM City illegally appropriated VND100 million dong from the fund for assisting poor families, which is also an example proving that the state’s money has been wasted.

While state funded organizations have been wasting the state’s money, non-state organizations have been effectively giving technical and scientific assistance to people to help them escape from the poverty.

Cohed, which does not receives any investment capital from the State, has succeeded in implementing a lot of projects, including the one on heightening the capability of the poor households in Mai Hich commune in Mai Chau district of Hoa Binh province.

Scientists came to the commune to run training courses, transfer technologies in husbandry, farming and environment sanitation to the local poor households. With three billion dong, Cohed has built up a club, where all local residents can gather to exchange experiences in farming and applying technical achievements.

The Center for DNA analysis and genetic technology has been well known to everyone who has knowledge about genetic technology. The center has made a complete and comprehensive study of gene polymorphism frequencies in the Vietnamese which can serve as the basis for determining parentage.

The center not only provides services to the orders, but it has also carried out free DNA analyses so as to help find the people lost in the war.

Fair playing field for all

Do Thi Van, Head of the Personnel Department of VUSTA, said that the science organizations have always been meeting obstacles when implementing their missions, simply because they are non-state organizations.

The organizations don’t have many opportunities to win the bids to obtain the rights to implement big state funded projects. Meanwhile, since they do not receive any money from the State, they have to call for the support from foreign institutions and depend on their assistance.

Dat Viet