[Vnbiz] EIU Vietnam Education

[Craig Stevenson]

Vietnam: Education
   September 21st 2006
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   COUNTRY BACKGROUND

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Enrolment rates reach record levels

Although access to higher levels of education has historically been limited,
the introduction of near-universal primary education has produced high
literacy rates. The Viet Nam Living Standards Survey 2002 found that 92% of
the population aged ten years and older were literate—89% of females and 95%
of males. Literacy in the urban areas (96%) is only slightly higher than in
the countryside (91%). Vietnam's school enrolment rates suffered a decline
in 1987-91, particularly at secondary level, because of a budgetary squeeze
that reduced the wages of teachers. This was compounded by the emergence of
alternative occupations for teachers. However, enrolment rates have not only
recovered but have risen to record levels, with 167 per 10,000 people
enrolled in tertiary education. The government aims to raise this figure to
200 by 2010. The share of government current spending allocated to education
and training rose from just under 5% in 1989 to over 16% by 1999 and 23% in
2002. State spending is augmented by large amounts of household spending on
fees, tutoring and educational supplies, which is thought to account for as
much as half of all educational spending.
  Enrolment rates in education (% of relevant age group; school years)
1990/91 2002/03 Net primary enrolment rate 90 94 Net secondary enrolment
rate n/a 65 Source: UN Development Programme, Human Development Report 2005.

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Skills levels remain low

Despite rising enrolment rates, only 18.5% of those aged 15 or above have
completed (upper) secondary school or higher, and four-fifths of the labour
force is considered to be unskilled. Skilled workers are disproportionately
concentrated in and around the capital, Hanoi (the Red River Delta region),
and Ho Chi Minh City (in the south-east). In the south-east, 32% of workers
are skilled, including 6% who have a college education; the comparable
figures for the Red River Delta are 25% skilled and 6.5% with college
education.
The Economist Intelligence Unit
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