It Pays to Learn
HANOI - Call it a simple lesson in supply and
demand. As Vietnamese universities churn out
thousands of graduates with dim job prospects and
poor English skills, overseas education has become an
obsession for many parents with extra savings. Quick to
see a growing market, roughly 90 local
companies--many of them still unlicensed--have sprung
up as "international education consultants," charging
$200-$1,500 per student applicant.
But the free market doesn't hold much appeal for
Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training. Citing
complaints of fraud, the ministry is preparing tighter
controls on study abroad. If draft measures are
approved by the prime minister in June, as expected,
each overseas student would require a special
recommendation from the Education Ministry, and
unlicensed consultancies would be shuttered.
Judging by the proposal, the move is partly political. "At
present, to serve a political purpose, many countries are
encouraging our students to study in some
social-science fields which are politically sensitive," the
document warns. Consultants maintain, however, that
most students prefer more practical courses, in business
or computer science.
While some education experts welcome a crackdown
on unscrupulous consultants, the proposed measures
have also stirred dismay. "This is just a move to
suffocate people," complains a Hanoi businessman,
who has already sponsored one employee to study
overseas. "It's a way for the Communist Party to extend
more control over society."
In the old days, the Vietnamese government had no
ideological qualms about sending students abroad. The
system was simple. The state held a nationwide
competition and dispatched winners, on full
scholarships, to the Soviet Union, East Germany,
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Cuba, and
Romania. Less-fortunate scholars made do with
Mongolia.
The Eastern bloc's collapse and Vietnam's resurgent
interest in the West paved the way for a new
generation. Beginning in 1992, the government allowed
"self-funded students" the freedom to find their own
slots in universities abroad. At present, an estimated
10,000 Vietnamese students are ensconced in
Australia, the United States, France, Canada, New
Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Many
overseas universities pay a commission to consultants
who supply successful applicants, sweetening the pot
provided by parents.
The old guard remains troubled by the new system.
"The students who are sent by their rich parents don't
study hard. They build a bad reputation," says Tran Chi
Thanh, the Russian-trained head of the academic affairs
department at the National Economics University in
Hanoi.
Keeping tabs
Meanwhile, Education Ministry officials supporting the
new measures profess alarm at their inability to keep
tabs on students. Under the current system, students
simply submit their university acceptance letter to the
Ministry of Public Security, which issues them a
passport. With a visa from the relevant embassy, they
are free to go--without registering at the Education
Ministry. "When [overseas students] violate the law, or
get into fights, we have no idea who they are," frets one
ministry official. "There are some students who study a
short time, then they escape and never come back."
Some consultants suspect that the ministry's efforts to
assert control derive mainly from a desire to cash in.
"They just want to impose another layer of bureaucracy
on the Vietnamese student, forcing him to pay more,"
grumbles a Hanoi-based consultant on overseas
education.
Under the proposed system, the Education Ministry
would aim to curtail fraud by authenticating acceptance
letters. Having a central clearing house would also
make it easier for the Communist Party to track which
officials are sending their children overseas and demand
a financial accounting.
To be sure, the Education Ministry is already
overwhelmed with the job of authenticating degrees
obtained at home. The Nhan Dan party newspaper has
reported that the ministry had investigated more than
half a million cases by December 2000, turning up
3,500 fake degrees. As the paper noted, Vietnamese
citizens are becoming more bold in fingering cadres
who obtain fake degrees in order to win promotions.
Such scandals only boost business for the international
education consultants, who pitch an overseas degree as
a mark of credibility for future employers. And for
anxious Vietnamese parents, that's all that counts.
By Margot Cohen - Far Eastern Economic Review - March 1st, 2001.
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