Vietnam, Ireland Sign Agreement to Boost Education Ties

Ireland and Vietnam on Nov 28 signed a new cooperation agreement with an aim to increase the number of Vietnamese students taking third-level courses in the European country. Speaking at the signing ceremony in Hanoi, Irish Minister of State for Trade And Development Jan O'Sullivan said: “Ireland sees our education linkages as central to the future of bilateral economic relations with Vietnam.”
Currently, 40 Vietnamese are enrolled in Irish universities, with 13 of those funded by Irish government scholarships. To compare, 6,000 Vietnamese are studying in the UK, and elsewhere, tapping the Asian student market has created a multi-billion dollar industry within Australia's third-level education system. Last year 25,000 Vietnamese were part of a total of 240,000 Asian students who enrolled in Australia, up from 180,000 in 2008. Amid public concerns about domestic educational quality, graduating from a foreign university is seen by Vietnamese as a ticket to a better job at home. With Australia tightening visa regulations for foreign students, it could offer Ireland an opening to attract fee-paying students from Asia. Ireland hopes to attract 1,500 Vietnamese who receive scholarships from the Vietnamese government each year to study abroad, though awareness of Ireland as a possible study destination remains low. Despite another looming austerity budget at home, Minister O'Sullivan said that Ireland's aid to Vietnam would continue, as part of a broader strategy to boost Ireland presence in the Southeast Asia country. (http://www.independent.ie Nov 28)