Vietnam to Require Deputy Ministers to Speak At Least One Foreign Language

Vietnam may request government senior officials including deputy ministers, heads of general departments, and heads of ministerial-level bureaus to be able to speak at least one foreign language, according to a draft regulation by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Under the requirements, people holding such posts must be proficient in at least one of the popular languages, including English, French, German, Russia, and Chinese; or Laotian or Cambodian, or the language of an ethnic group. The officials must obtain the sixth level, the highest level in the Ministry of Education and Training’s foreign language proficiency frame, or equal to C2 level (Mastery of Proficiency) in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The draft document has caught both support and objection from public opinion.
PhD. Tran Van Nhung, general secretary of the State Professor Title Council, said the move will require officials to improve their knowledge, enabling them to work better for the sake of the country. Trinh Ngoc Thach, deputy head of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youths and Children, said that the requirements is unrealistic and will result in a situation in which people seek to buy certificates rather than learning.  
Earlier last month, in a survey conducted by the JobStreet English Language Assessment (JELA), Vietnam ranked 4th among five countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, for English proficiency.
In fact, the foreign language proficiency of Vietnamese officials is rather weak in comparison with those in the regional countries. Officials are also criticized for poor qualifications as their advancement is normally based on relationship with high-ranking officials and on bribery, local observers said. (Baodatviet.vn June 17, Infonet.vn June 17)