Vietnam is expected to allocate VND6 trillion ($285.7 million) from state budget for education and training next year, down 10% from 2013, said Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga. The fund for the sector’s regular spending and development projects will fall by 7% and 10% on year, respectively, while that for scientific research and the national education target program will be cut by 30% and 44%, respectively. Educators are concerned that the lower state budget spending would have negative effect on the education and training quality, which now ranks nearly bottom in the ASEAN, while the foreign direct investment (FDI) in this sector remains the lowest among others. Although the government of Vietnam always stresses education as a top priority in the country’s development and a decisive element for poverty reduction and industrialization, the state has taken little measures to solve the myriad problems in the sector. Analyses show that the percentage of population having high qualification is relatively low: only 1.6% of the population finishes junior college (3-year training), 4.2% finishes university (4-year training), and 0.21% has master degree or higher. Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank country director, earlier said that despite the fast expansion and rapid growth in the numbers of universities and colleges in Vietnam, the quality of education is yet to meet the demand and development in the region. (Phap Luat TP HCM – HCM City Law Dec 30 p13)
