Vietnamese spend $3-4 billion a year to fund their children's studies overseas

Some days ago, the rector of a well-known university in Vietnam posted a photo of his daughter on Facebook with the caption “Congratulations to my daughter, who is following higher education in the US”.

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said before the National Assembly on June 6 that Vietnamese spend $3-4 billion each year to fund their children’s studies overseas.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), 130,000 Vietnamese students were studying overseas in 2016. Of these, 10 percent studied with funding from the state budget or a scholarship was granted by foreign non-government organizations. 

The remaining 90 percent of students studied, including children of educators and education officials, with their own money.

H, the former rector of a well-known school in the south, has two daughters and both of them are studying overseas. 

The first one is studying in the US on a full government scholarship and the second is studying Korean in South Korea as a self-funded student.

“Vietnam’s education is incomparable with the education of developed countries. We want our children to receive modern education,” he explained.

“One would have better job opportunities because employers appreciate foreign education quality,” he said, adding that the amount of money he has to pay to fund the daughter’s study in South Korea is ‘relatively high’.

“The expenses on accommodation and food in South Korea is no less than $1,000 a month. Tuition and other fees in developed countries are no less than $50,000 a year,” he said.

Being an educator, H thinks only 5 percent of students studying at Vietnamese schools really have talent and can succeed after the graduation, while 95 percent of students are not truly excellent and would find it hard to look for jobs. 

Therefore, sending children abroad is a good choice if parents can afford the expensive training courses.

When H was the rector of a university, he thought that if Vietnam’s schools used foreign curricula, the number of students studying abroad would decrease. 

However, he changed his mind later when realizing that international curricula should be implemented by qualified lecturers. 

The former official of MOET said nearly all the children of his ‘bosses’ study at foreign universities. 

“Foreign education is better than Vietnamese,” he explained. “It is undeniable. MOET officials are also parents and they want the best things for their children.”

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