French professor Odon Vallet on August 26 presented 219 scholarships worth VND1.1 billion ($56,410) to outstanding poor students and pupils from Vietnam’s five south central cities and provinces. The scholarships, each worth VND7.5 million, were given to 34 students from Danang University and Quy Nhon University, while the remaining 185 students from Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Danang each received VND5 million. This is the 8th year that Vietnamese students in the central region have received such scholarships, the Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh newspaper reported Aug 27. As a doctor of law in the France-based Sorbonne University, Odon Vallet devoted all of his family inheritance, worth EUR100 million, to grant scholarships to poor students in France and Vietnam. Since 2001, through Meet Vietnam organization, Odon Vallet scholarships have been awarded to thousands of Vietnamese students. In 2010, the scholarships worth VND12 billion will be granted to 2,150 students in the Southeast Asia country. (Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh- HCM City Law Aug 27 p9)
