VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam spends the huge sum of VND6 billion ($250,000) to train an engineer in space technology, but pays the modest sum of VND3-5 million a month in wages to the engineer. 

This is an example cited by Associate Professor Dr Pham Anh Tuan, director of the National Satellite Center (VNSC).

At a National Assembly session held in 2015, a deputy from HCMC said the pay for a new university graduate should be paid VND10 million on average, the level which is suitable to his training cost, experience and knowledge and the works he takes at the office. 

But in fact, a worker at state agencies who just finishes university can only receive VND2 million, the amount of money just high enough to pay for room rent. 

This means that even workers with high qualification cannot earn enough money to feed themselves.

The big problem is that the state, families and students have to spend big money on training just to receive modest pay.

Vietnam spends the huge sum of VND6 billion ($250,000) to train an engineer in space technology, but pays the modest sum of VND3-5 million a month in wages to the engineer.

The State every year spends 20 percent of the total spending on education and training. Thoi Bao Tai Chinh cited a report of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) as reporting that VND225 trillion was spent on the educational sector in 2015.

Within 12 years, from 1998 to 2010, the state raised investment in education and training from 13 percent to 20 percent of the total spending from the state budget. 

VNSC project is another example to show Vietnam is willing to invest for training. Capitalized at $600 million and aiming to allow Vietnam to master space technology by 2020, this is the largest science & technology project developed in Vietnam in the last 35 years.

Vietnam hopes that by 2022, workers can design and assemble LOTUSAT-2, the satellite utilizing radar technology which can observe and take pictures of the earth with high resolution in all weather conditions.

Tuan said VNSC sent 35 engineers to Japan where they follow training courses at five leading universities to obtain master’s degree on space technology. 

Eleven have returned to Vietnam and have been working at VNSC, but only six can get salary from the state (VND3-5 million a month for an engineer with 1-5-years’ experience).

“They have to assemble satellites worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but they receive several millions of dong a month,” he said.

Tien Phong