Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha revealed the information at the World Education Forum held in London on January 20-23, Vietnam News Agency reported.
The minister added that if the family’s contribution is included, this figure reaches 8% of GDP, showing an interest in education in every Vietnamese family.

Vietnam’s GDP increased 7.1% in 2018 to reach some US$240 billion.

In recent years, the Vietnamese government’s investment on education has been increasing, maintaining 20% of total budget expenditures, Nha noted.

At the event, he talked about the relationship among teachers, families, students and the community to create a practical and effective education. Nha also mentioned three aspects, namely equality, investment in education and efficiency.

The minister added that as of December 31, 2018, Vietnam had attracted 455 foreign invested projects in education with total capital of more than US$4 billion. The Vietnamese government has also approved 530 joint training programs between local and foreign universities, including more than 80 programs with British schools.

However, the minister also acknowledged that Vietnam’s education has still encountered many challenges. Vietnamese students have achieved high results in exams but their soft skills and learning motivation remain weak.

The World Education Forum is the largest forum for education ministers around the world held annually in London. This year’s forum attracted 1,263 delegates from 95 different countries.

The forum aims to discuss future education policies. During the three-day forum, attendees listen to in-depth presentations from pioneering educational researchers, policy makers and educational experts.

The education forum is organized under the sponsorship and assistance of the UK’s Foreign Office, the Department for Education, the Department for International Trade, the British Council and some partners in the field of education.

According to a report on Hanoi Times

The Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and The Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi, Vietnam have signed an agreement to boost cooperation in teaching and learning English in higher education in the 2018-2020 period.

The agreement fouses on encouraging the cooperation and exchange of experiences in training English, promoting English proficiency evaluation and English improvement for teachers and students.

As per agreement, the Swedish Embassy will provide free practice tests in reading, listening and grammar; and free online training courses for local teachers as well as support the Ministry of Education and Training to develop English Training Skills Clubs at schools nationwide.

Since 2016, Educational institutions in Vietnam have been directed to implement English as a second language on campus, it has been announced, which could increase student mobility and international collaborations with the country.

The Minister of Education and Training, Phung Xuan Nha, has initially aimed this regulation at 61 universities, academies and colleges under the Ministry.

The regulation will ensure that lecturers at universities hold their meetings in English, with students also required to give presentations and discussions in English.

M&A activity in the education sector of Vietnam being heat-up.

An extraordinary general body meeting of the Hoa Sen University was called last Tuesday to discuss the implications of Nguyen Hoang Corporation  – a private education group of Vietnam acquiring a large stake in it.
According to a report by Hung Le on VNExpress, given the scale of the transaction and the fact that Hoa Sen has become a prestigious, well known university in the Vietnam, the acquisition has stirred much debate and dispute in the education sector.
Some are wary of education being treated as just another business, and worry about the impact it will have on the quality of education and the original orientations of the universities.
Others argue that this is not a bad thing, that it is normal commercial activity that can have beneficial impacts.
Related topic: Mergers and Acquisitions
According to experts, Hoa Sen carries a value of around $85.6 million with modern facilities, many students, good reputation and decent growth momentum.
Although it has experienced temporary internal disputes and devaluations, the university is still one of the educational institutions in Vietnam with high revenues from student fees.
Hoa Sen is one of several private universities in Vietnam that have experienced ownership transfers in recent years. Many corporations with strong financial reserves are investing millions to acquire universities and colleges in the country.

Easier path to ownership

Experts say that sale and acquisition of private university stocks have boomed in Vietnam over the past few years, because buying shares in an operating university is far easier than establishing a new one.
Economist Tran Vinh Du told the Thanh Nien newspaper that regulations setting a minimum capital requirement of $42.8 million to set up a university makes it extremely difficult for people to consider starting new institutions, as few have this kind of money to invest.
But for just tens or hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong, one can buy high stakes in a college or university. The legal processes required to buy a school is much less complex than to establish a new one, he noted.
The Hutech Education Development Joint Stock Company bought more than $4.28 million worth of shares in the HCMC University of Economics and Finance (UEF) in 2014.
The Hung Hau Joint Stock Company has purchased shares in Van Hien University worth $2.58 million, apart from acquiring Van Xuan College and Van Tuong Secondary School in HCMC. The Thanh Tay University is now owned by the Vicostone Joint Stock Company (VCS).

Normal commerce

Du, an Economist said that trading in private university equity was completely normal and something that can be expected to continue for a while.
“Basically, the investment in, or generally speaking, the sale and acquisition of universities at the moment has more positives and negatives”, said Dam Quang Minh, Principal of the Phu Xuan University.
“This is a chance for universities to develop and reform,” he added.
“Another issue we need to be aware of is that these acquisitions are usually transfers of ownership from individuals to institutional investors. This is therefore, better from a management perspective for the universities.”
In January 2018, at the “Finalizing policies and legislation on private universities” conference at the Committee on Culture, Youth, and Children organized by the National Assembly, education experts were still vehemently debating whether private universities should be regarded as businesses.

‘Regulated business’

Some experts found that the transfer of private universities in recent years no different than mergers and acquisitions of ordinary companies. Accordingly, they suggested that private universities be considered “a regulated business.”
Pham Phu, a former lecturer at the HCM City Polytechnic University, said many Asian countries see private universities as semi-for profit organizations.
This means that while private universities are treated as for-profit organizations, they are subjected to management policies that prevent them from becoming fully profit-oriented companies.
Related topic: Company Formation in Vietnam
Vietnam currently has 84 private schools, of which 60 are universities and 24 are colleges, with over 13,000 lecturers and 330,000 students. Their students account for 14 percent of all students in the country.

To be advised on how to get a Enterprise registration certificate and Investment Certificate for foreign investors in Vietnam, contact GBS – a business legal service company at: info@gbs.com.vn or call +84903189033.

US$1 = VND23,380
Read full article on VNExpress here.

Australian travelers teaching English overseas without qualifications cause alarm

Education experts in Australia have voiced concern over the number of unqualified foreign English teachers hired overseas because of their “token white face”, and the lasting negative impact it could have on students.

Key points:

• Learning English has been growing in importance in Asia over the last few decades
• Recent report says two-thirds of the 400,000 foreigners teaching in China are unqualified
• Some schools “would rather pay a fine” than hire local teachers

According to a report by Tasha Wibawa and Bang Xiao on ABC News, China is one among many Asian countries — including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam — struggling to regulate unqualified foreigners teaching English as a Second Language (ESL).
A recent report by state-owned Xinhua news agency said two-thirds of the 400,000 foreigners teaching in China in 2017 were unqualified, with some also working on incorrect visas.
Lynette Kim, director at TESOL Australia, told the ABC that foreigners becoming teachers without formal training could have a lasting negative impact on both students and the teachers themselves.

Jake Sharp is one of many qualified English teachers in Vietnam who enjoys the financial freedom of working overseas. (Supplied: Jake Sharp)

Schools ‘would rather pay fine’ than hire local teachers

Ms Kim, as well as several other teachers the ABC spoke to, said that many schools overseas hired foreigners for their “token white face”.
“People think unless you have that western person [teaching in the school] you’re really not going to get that culture right, and to some degree that’s true,” she said.
French-British national Nathaniel Kempster arrived in China on a student visa in 2006.
He told the ABC he was approached to teach in a kindergarten on his second day and did not have a valid working visa.
“You don’t even have to be a native [speaker] to get good pay, you just have to have a ‘white face’ — that’s the most important — that’s the first criteria,” he said.

PHOTO: Nathaniel Kempster works as a private tutor after being told he could no longer teach in a kindergarten. (Supplied)

“[The school] knows that they are going to make an enormous amount of money from that teacher, so paying a fine is a very small thing compared to the amount of money they will make over time,” he said.

“In China, being western is viewed as being superior,” Mr Kempster said.
“Also, the fact that you’re western, [people think] you are obviously super good at English, even though some people aren’t.”

Photo: Daniel Hiers was teaching in China before his criminal past was reportedly discovered by a student. (US Marshals)

“The [English] centers are often not regulated — people are working with children without having to show a police check,” he said.

In Shanghai, one student found her college English teacher, Daniel William Hiers, on a US list of the 15 most wanted criminals, according to Chinese state media CGTN and the Global Times.
The man had been profiled on America’s most wanted list since March 2005 for murder and criminal sexual conduct.

Some people teach just ‘to stay afloat’ financially overseas

Indonesian law requires English teachers to have a masters degree and a minimum of five years teaching experience to teach in an international school.
But teachers who meet these requirements are becoming increasingly difficult to find as the demand to learn English increases.
Some schools have chosen to work around these requirements.
Yusuf Muhyidin, director of tutoring from the Ministry of Education in Indonesia, said unqualified teachers could sometimes slip through the cracks.

“Many language courses employ native speakers, but some don’t want to undergo the correct procedures or obtain a permit from the Ministry,” he said.

“This is often due to the time to process and the cost factor.”
However, he said it was not the Ministry’s issue to resolve.
“It’s actually the police’s job to file a lawsuit against those kind of workers,” he said.
Sydney-born Anya Filla-Dwehus, who has been teaching English in China for 18 years, said it could be hard for foreign nationals to work in the field they are qualified in due to strict Chinese Government regulations.

“While some are actual teachers back home, I’ve come across some people who are basically passing through and it’s just something for them to stay afloat,” she said.

There are conflicting reports on regulations around foreign teachers.
A Xinhua article published in July said it took at least four months to hire a foreign teacher by following the correct legal process.
Foreign teachers also need a bachelor’s degree, two years of relevant work experience or a teaching qualification to obtain a work permit, the report said.
But Zhang Fucheng, vice-president of Yanshan University, told Xinhua in a separate article last September that there were currently no laws and regulations for foreign teachers in China.
“Legislation should be completed as soon as possible to improve the standards and methods for the appointment of foreign teachers, and their legal status, rights and obligations,” Mr Zhang said.

PHOTO: Lynette Kim (far left), director of TESOL Australia, says many foreign schools want “the token white face”. (Supplied: Lynette Kim)

English language skills seen as key to children’s future

Learning English has been growing in importance in Asia over the last few decades.
International language company Education First (EF) revealed in their English Proficiency Index that Asia has the second highest non-native English speaking population, second only to Europe.
The company’s 2017 report — based on test data from more than 1 million participants — also found that adult English proficiency levels are directly correlated to the country’s ranking in the United Nations Human Development Index, which measures the standard of living and economic growth among other achievements.
Economic development offered new incentives and resources to learn English, the report said.
Ms Filla-Dwehus said Asian parents saw learning English as a key pathway to a successful career.
In China parents want their children to be fluent in English, she said, and be able to pronounce words “just like a foreigner”.

“[Parents] want to have that skill already developed before they get into secondary education.”

Read original article on ABC News here

Schools beeing judged by their exam results, but the fact is good exam results alone will not prepare pupils for the next industrial revolution

The second-year students at Nguyen Hue specialized high school in Hanoi are an unusually motivated bunch.
According to a report by John Reed on Financial Times, Entrance exams for university are coming up in a year. Then there is the matter of their parents’ high expectations, competition from other children in this elite school, and the tests of various kinds they are given every week.
Nguyen Phuong Thao, 16. who wants to become a journalist said “Everybody here is so talented, it makes me feel pressure”, but her favorite subject is maths, which she says her parents “forced” her to study when she was a young girl.
Another second-year student is Nguyen Tung Chi, who wants to work in marketing said “My first goal is to get into a good university in Vietnam. All the classmates are obsessed with getting good grades.”
Vietnam outperforms neighboring countries in south-east Asia on education rankings, and does well globally too. Its high test scores contributed to its place in the World Bank human capital index — 48th — the highest rating for any lower middle-income country. It stands out relative to its wealth.
The country spends the equivalent of nearly 6 per cent of its GDP on education — high by global standards, and a greater proportion than most of its neighbors. Apart from the government’s investment in schools, observers of Vietnamese culture attribute children’s strong test scores to cultural and historical factors. These include the work ethic prized under Confucianism and the need to rebuild the country after the war.
Vietnam’s current generation of under-20s are an unusually large demographic cohort who will be competing for university places and jobs in an economy that is going through major transformation as the manufacturing jobs on which it relies undergo profound change.
Hoang Kim Ngoc, 24, an English teacher at the Nguyen Hue school told us that “The generation of their and my parents needed to work hard, and they realized the fastest way to develop the country was to study. The demands of the current workforce are so high,” she adds. “We are going through the fourth industrial revolution, where we not only expect to compete with machines, but we need to control them.”
Pham Hiep, a researcher based in Hanoi who specializes in university education, attributes Vietnam’s strong international test rankings in part to a well-designed curriculum for maths and science. “Shadow education” — extra tutoring in maths and other subjects outside school — is also common, he says.
Another factor, Mr Hiep says — echoing the children at Nguyen Hue school — is intense competition for university places as the country undergoes a demographic boom. “We don’t have enough places in tertiary education,” he says. “The supply doesn’t meet the demand.” The private universities in Vietnam, he says, account for only about 15 per cent of total enrolment, low compared to Vietnam’s regional neighbors, including the Philippines, Malaysia, and China.
There is little doubt that Vietnam’s education system is good at teaching children to do well on tests, especially in maths and science. But is it teaching them to think and reason too? And how reliable are the test scores themselves?
The World Bank’s rankings for Vietnam are based on the Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests, run by the OECD, and involving international tests taken by 15-year-olds. However, one critical observer tells the FT the results are influenced by a sampling issue that makes Vietnam’s results look better than they are because about half of children have left school by age 15.
As the school leavers tend to be poorer and lower-achieving than average, the wealthier and more studious ones who are tested push the overall results up.
“The Pisa sample for Vietnam is skewed, [as] it only includes the richer, higher-achieving kids,” says John Jerrim, a lecturer at University College London’s Institute of Education. “This is a significant part of the explanation why Vietnam does well.”
Mr Jerrim says that Vietnam will face a “paradox” moving forward, as improving education means more and more children remain in school. Its Pisa scores are likely to decline rather than increase.
However, he adds, even taking the statistical anomalies into account, “Vietnam probably does quite well compared to other countries with similar levels of development”. The Vietnamese government has been pursuing educational reforms for more than a decade, focused on reducing students’ workloads, boosting private investment in higher education, and improving vocational training. The results so far have been limited.
The children at Nguyen Hue school, while benefiting from some of the best secondary education Vietnam has to offer, have a few cavils of their own.
“We focus on how to be a good worker and a good citizen rather than developing our own skills and learning to chase our dreams,” says To Duc Manh.
“How we judge students to get a job: [is] not based on who we are, but the test numbers.”
 

Read full article on Financial Times

The proposal was earlier sent by the city’s Department of Education and Training and the Department of Finance and municipal government Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong agreed to use the city’s budget to pay for students’ fees.

Ho Sy Anh, who works at the Institute for Education Research under the HCM City University of Pedagogy, said tuition fees should be abolished as they were a barrier to education.

HCM City is currently collecting tuition fees from secondary schools in line with Decree 86/2015 issued by the government regarding regulations on the collection and use of tuition fees at public schools, as well as policies on reducing, exempting and supporting tuition fees between the academic year 2016-2017 and 2020-2021.

At present, secondary school students in HCM City’s 19 inner-city districts are paying monthly tuition fees of VND100,000 (USD4.38), while those in outlying districts are required to pay VND85,000 (USD3.72) each per month.

Source: Dtinews

The British Council in Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Educational Collaboration with the Hanoi Department of Education and Training (Hanoi DoET) with the witness of new Ambassador of the UK to Vietnam, Mr. Gareth Ward.

With over 20 years co-operation between the British Council and the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam, with the importance of education and training, aligning with the Strategic Partnership between the UK and Vietnam, the British Council in Vietnam and Hanoi DoET commit to further explore mutually beneficial educational partnership opportunities. Uyen Phuong report on SGGP.

In the three-year period (from September 1, 2018 to September 1, 2021), Hanoi DoET and British Council Vietnam have agreed and committed to implement the MOC in the following areas such as supporting the professional development of English language teachers in terms of both language proficiency and teaching skills and methodologies aligned with the National Foreign Languages strategy of the Government of Vietnam and the priorities of the Hanoi People’s Committee; supporting the improvement of teaching and learning in schools, targeting school leaders, teachers and students; enabling access for Vietnamese students and parents to information on the UK, UK education, UK and international exams, testing and accreditation; supporting the quality provision of English language testing and assessment for teachers and students, aiming to raise the level of English proficiency among teachers and students in Hanoi and raising awareness of educational opportunities for Vietnamese students in the UK and at the British Council.

In recent years, 12 universities in Hanoi have education exchange programs with UK institutions.