Francophones bow to reality
A consortium of six French universities is preparing to launch a new
university in Ho Chi Minh City by September 2004. But the school will
offer
instruction in both English and French--bowing to the reality that
Vietnamese students are more eager to master English as the
international
business language. "It is impossible to have a university that is just
French, that is just Francophone," maintains France's ambassador to
Vietnam,
Antoine Pouillieute.
"The priority is knowledge, not language." Another
resident Frenchman puts it more bluntly: "There is no point in having a
battle when the war is lost." That lesson was driven home last year when
applicants to a French-sponsored MBA programme in Vietnam increased
five-fold after English instruction was introduced. The university will
feature courses in computer studies, food processing, business and
public
finance, with a target tuition fee of $3,000 per year.
The Far Eastern Economic Review - July 25, 2002.
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