“But manufacturing isn’t going to raise the standard of living to a middle-class society,” noted a banker on a recent trip to
She argued that low-end manufacturing is a short-term fix. Taking the leftovers from
One hope expressed by government officials is that
The goal is to become one of the top 40 countries in relation to maths by 2020, up from its current ranking at 54. The rationale for assuming it can succeed in pushing maths is that young Vietnamese students have stood out in the field. A fact frequently trotted out by proud politicians is that six Vietnamese students attending the 51st International Mathematics Olympiad in
While that’s all well and good, both local mathematicians and employers have quietly raised a few red flags. Professor Le Tuan Hoa, deputy head of the Mathematics Institute, noted that the number of good students who choose to pursue mathematics as their first degree is actually on the decline. He said only 850 Vietnamese scientists have ever completed a mathematical research work and, worse, no Vietnamese universities use modern mathematics teaching methods.
So there’s work to be done. “I’d say the focus should be on English as well. Without that, we still have to import upper level talent at banks,” said one local banker at a multinational firm.
English
The Ministry of Education and Training had earlier stated an aim that 20% of primary school pupils across the nation would be taught English in the 2010-11 academic year.
Under the programme, English would have been a compulsory subject for third-grade to fifth-grade students who would have had four lessons per week. This hardly would have been enough to create a literate or even English language conversant work force of the future, but it was a start. That failed. A shortage of teachers has forced the ministry to withdraw the plan.
While English may be the lingua franca of banks, it’s not necessary for other industries -- and
Illiteracy rates are particularly high among ethnic minorities and women. Illiteracy stands at 75% and 88% among ethnic Dao and H’mong communities respectively. Furthermore, there are also high drop-out rates among children from ethnic minorities in remote villages, notes Unesco.
One might argue that it is not surprising that rural areas struggle on the education front -- it is a developing nation, after all. However, the bigger problem is the university-level schooling, which isn’t just struggling on the aforementioned maths front. In a 2008
Experts say this has yet to be addressed. Once again, at first blush statistics look good -- of those who complete their five-year primary education, 90% continue to higher education.