VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese youth are wasting years of their lives in university lecture halls. In most cases, say experts, university graduates find themselves accepting jobs which do not require such lengthy educations.

Prof. Tran Phuong.

An ad posted in a local newspaper some months ago attracted the public’s attention. A construction company was looking for two security guards. Candidates needed to have university educations and B-level English certificates – exceptionally high requirements for the post of security guard.

Another newspaper last year reported on a foreign tourist’s stunned reaction when the cyclo driver who was carrying him through Hanoi’s old quarter displayed a skillful command of English. The driver said he had a university degree in English, but that after four years of hard study, he could not find a job.

Professor Tran Phuong, former Deputy Prime Minister, and now President of the Hanoi Business and Technology University, commented that current education curriculums are not suitable to a modern economy.

“We strive to overly high goals. We force youth to receive too much knowledge,” Phuong noted.

The director of a limited company in Tu Liem District in Hanoi agreed, saying that the accountants finishing intermediate schools (with 2-year training) have more than enough knowledge to work as accountants for small-scale businesses like his.

However, the director said, he only employs those who have university degrees. “There are numerous unemployed bachelors whom I can hire with low wages, so why should I recruit candidates with lower education levels?” he questioned.

Commenting about this, Phuong said Vietnamese students are now required to receive too much knowledge, which is not really necessary and is time-consuming.

Some days ago, Phuong’s school intended to offer a two-year accountancy training course.

“A business director said to me that her business has the low turnover level of VND10 billion a year. Therefore, she would prefer accountants finishing intermediate school,” Phuong said.

Unlike the director of the company in Tu Liem, the businesswoman prefers accountants with a lower education level, as she says they would accept lower wages. Moreover, she worries that workers with higher education levels will leave her company as soon as they can find better positions.

There are about 500,000 small and medium private businesses in Vietnam.

As for university educations, Phuong believes that the current curriculums are overloaded. Vietnamese university students have to learn subjects and receive knowledge they will never need in their future jobs.

He went on to say that there exist many subjects which are too academic, and should be designed only for researchers.

“By overloading students, we are wasting society’s money and students’ and teachers’ time,” he said.

“We have an overabundance of bachelors, while the national economy needs more skilful technical workers,” he maintained, adding that while localities do not need so many university graduates, universities continue to mushroom in every city and province.

GDVN