The right of Access to higher education: the case of Vietnam

In order to improve quality of higher education system, making it plays a significant role in preparing human resources for the country and assists the achievement of economic developme[r]

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THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CASE OF VIETNAM

A/Prof Vu Cong Hao Hanoi Metropolitan University

1 The Education System of Vietnam: An Overview

Vietnam is located in the South East Asia region, bordering China in the north, Lao PDR and Cambodia in the west, and the Pacific Ocean in the east The total territory of Vietnam is 330,957 km2 and total population is 90.73 million3 people as of 2014.1 Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam The

country is divided into 63 provinces and municipalities with 54 different ethnic groups, of which 90 per cent comprised of Kinh (Viet) people using Vietnamese as the official language2.

Since Doi Moi (Innovation, 1986), Vietnam has progressed fast economic growth Before 1986, Vietnam was one of the lowest income economies with less than $100 Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in the 1980s However, thanks to Doi Moi, the country in 2015 joined the club of lower-middle income countries3 (which include the countries with a GNI per capita of more than $1,045 but

less than $4,125)

Economic development has created favorable conditions for Vietnam to promote economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education which demonstrated through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Viet Nam has made the significant progress on Millennium Development Goal (MDG 1) on poverty reduction, and from a rate of 49.2 per cent in 1992 to 3.2 per cent in 20124,

though the inequalities between urban and rural areas as well as among social groups still exist Following the MDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in September 2015 by Viet Nam, with the SDG on education Since the independence of Vietnam (1945), the Vietnamese government has paid much attention to the development of education Since 1945, several education reforms have transformed the education5: The first (1945-1954) transformed the structure of the general education into

eight years of education with three levels: primary education of four years; lower secondary education of two years; and upper secondary education of two years The second (1955-1975)6, in the north, the

1 Source: World Bank database, accessed in July, 2015

2 Source: UN ESCAP database, accessed in July, 2015 Estimation from World populations prospects 2012 3 World Bank country and lending groups, accessed in July, 2015

4 Source: World Bank database, accessed in October, 2015.

5 MOET and UNECSO (2016), Education Financing in Viet Nam, 2009-2013

470 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS general education systems changed into a 10 years programme with four years of primary education, three years of lower secondary education, and three years of upper secondary education, while iin the south, the general education experienced several changes with the components of primary education (five years), lower secondary education (four years), and upper secondary education (three years) The third (1976-1985), the school curriculum is changed into 12 years of general education with primary and lower secondary education combined, and preparation was made for streaming in upper secondary schools The fourth (1986-2005), due to difficulties in providing sufficient public resources for the education system led to a decline in quality, the government allowed the collection of tuition fees at all levels of education with the exception of primary education, and permission was given to open private kindergartens, and semi-public and people-founded classes/schools at all levels.1

Diagram Current Structure of Education System of Vietnam2

Tiến sỹ Doctor of philosophy

(1-4 năm/ 2-4 years) Tuổi/ Age

Giáo dục Đại học (Higher Education)

Giáo dục Phổ thông (General Education)

Giáo dục Mầm non (Preschool Education) tháng/ months 24 21 18 18 15 11 6 Đại học/ University (4-6 năm/ 4-6 years)

Trung học phổ thông Upper Secondary school (3 năm/ years)

Trung học sở/ Lower Secondary (4 năm/ years)

Tiểu học/ Primary school (5 năm/ years)

Mẫu giáo/ Kindergarten Nhà trẻ/ Nursery

Giáo dục thường xuyên (giáo dục khơng quy) Continuing Education (Non-formal Education) Trung học chun nghiệp

Professional Secondary (3-4 năm/ 3-4 years)

Dạy nghề/ Vocational training Dài hạn/ Long term (1-3 năm/ 1-3 years) Ngắn hạn/ Short term (<1 năm/ <1years) Thạc sỹ/ Masters

(2 năm/ years)

Cao đẳng/ College (3 năm/ years)

There is ongoing comprehensive reform of education and training in Vietnam, which emphasizes education and training as the top national policy and a first priority among social economic development plans and programs According to the World Bank, the reform is ‘to change past inappropriate perceptions and solutions, and to forcefully propose and implement new solutions so as to halt the recession, stabilize and strengthen the system, and bring about a situation with the resources needed for continued development’3 In this regard, there were three key policies for education renovation:

1 World Bank (2013) Education in Vietnam: Development history, challenges and solutions Retrieved from

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1121703274255/1439264-1153425508901/ Education_Vietnam_Development.pdf

2 Source: Viet Nam National Education for All 2015 Review, 2015.

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The first is to transform educational objectives from those serving the needs of the State owned economic and collective economic sectors to the needs of the market economy The second is directed at the socialization of education by involving different stakeholders in the development of education, diversifying the types of education and exploring and utilizing different resources for educational development And the third is to democratize education by the creation of conditions that allowed for people from the community to participate in the management of education.1

2 Situation and adopted policies which promote the the right of access to higher education in Vietnam Vietnam has a long tradition of higher education, with the first national university (‘Quoc Tu

Giam’) established since 11th and remained until the mid-nineteenth century, when Indochina was

colonized by the French2 Right after that, the University of Indochina was established by the French

in the late of 1930s, which the aim at ‘training people to serve the colonial apparatus’.3

After Dien Bien Phu victory, Vietnam was divided into two parts: The Democratic Republic of Vietnam governed by the Communist Party in the North and the Republic of Vietnam backed up by the United States of America in the South Consequently, higher education in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was influenced by the socialist countries block, while higher education in the Republic of Vietnam followed the French and American education models4 In 1975, Vietnam was

reunified after the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam, as a result, higher education in the country was merged into one system which was applied in the North

As shown in the above Diagram 1, at present, higher education in Vietnam includes four levels: college, undergraduate, master and doctorate Specifically, college- level training over 2-3 year courses is available for upper secondary or professional and vocational secondary graduates; or over 1-2 year courses for those graduates in the same training area/discipline Undergraduate-level training over 4-6 year courses is available for upper secondary or professional and vocational secondary graduates; or over 21/2-4 year courses for graduates from the same training area/discipline at secondary level; or even 11/2-2 year courses for graduates in the same training area/discipline at college level Master- level training courses of 1-2 years are available for university graduates Doctorate- level training over years is available for university graduates; and over 2-3 years for master degree holders

Higher education institutions in Vietnam include: Junior colleges; Colleges and universities, including those with different university members and others with only faculties, academies; Universities and research institutes are only allowed to provide master and doctorate training if they are qualified by having a sufficient pool of professors and associate professors, physical facilities, equipment and experience in taking on the responsibilities of conducting state- level scientific research

1 Dang, B.L (2003) Vietnam’s education in the first decades of the 21st century – a development strategy Hanoi:

Educational Publishing House

2 Nguyen, L (2006) Vietnam’s higher education in the transitional period.Working paper for the 28th Human Resource

Development, Working Group Meeting, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

3 World Bank (2013) Ibid.

4 Brooks, T (2010) Innovation education: Problems and prospects in governance and management of the Vietnamese

higher education system ISP Collection

472 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Diagram Higher education Degree Structure of Vietnam1

The right to education was recognized in the first Constitution 1946 of Vienam and later re-affirmed in all subsequent constitutions (1959, 1980, 1992,2013), this right has however not yet been clarified Traditionally, in Vietnam, the right to education has been understood as the right to free primary education and the right to equal access to other levels of education2.

Although the economic achievements of Doi Moi have contributed to the promotion of the right to education in general in Vietnam, it did not immediately affect the right to higher education system until the Government issued the Decree 90/CP in 1993 affirming the country’s commitment to the unification and restructure of the higher education system and declaring the right of all people in Vietnam to pursue higher education3

The growth of the right to pursue higher education in Vietnam since 1993 is reflected in the following specific aspects:

First, the reform of higher education management system, which creates more favorable conditions for learners

Specifically, the system was bureaucratically re-structured from three agencies involved in the management of higher education to one organization (the Ministry of Education and Training or MOET) which aimed to be more responsive to the new and diverse demands of society4 Five new

1 Thu, DTH (2013), Curriculum Planning Management in Higher Education in Vietnam: The Perspective of Higher

Education Institutions, Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University

2 Except the 1980 Constitution which stipulated that all levels of eduacation are free of charge.

3 World Bank (2008) Vietnam: Higher education and skills for growth Retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.

org/INTEASTASIAPACIFIC/Resources/Viet nam-HEandSkillsforGrowth.pdf

4 Nguyen, H (2010) The impact of globalisation on higher education in China and Vietnam: Policies and practices

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higher education were established by merging a number of smaller higher education, with combined teaching and research functions, a feature which had disappeared in the system before Doi moi1

Previously higher education were mono-disciplinary institutions, with limited research capabilities These new institutions included two national universities (i.e Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University) and three regional universities (i.e Thai Nguyen, Da Nang and Hue Universities)2

Table Types of Universities in Vietnam3

Types of universities

Specialised universities Multi-disciplinary universities Open universities - Narrowly focused or focused on a

single field of education - Academic research capacity

(e.g University of Economics, University of Laws, University of Medicine)

- Wide range of study areas - Academic research capacity

(e.g Ho Chi Minh City National University, Hue University)

- Wide range of study areas - More accessible to students

(e.g Ho Chi Minh City Open University)

Second, the expansion of higher education institutions and the recognition of private universities, which creates more opportunities and choices for learners

Since Doi Moi in 1986, the number of higher education institutions dramatically increased, including public and private types Private higher education institutions have opened up the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese students to attend colleges and universities, especially in new areas that public colleges and universities not yet have4 The position of private

higher education institutions in Vietnam is increasingly strengthened, and in some areas such as Business Administration, Information Technology, etc., some private universities have gained higher credibility comparing to public ones

However, the enrolment of students in the private sector remains small compared with public sector institutions, though the private sector has been given more autonomy in terms of management comparing to public institutions Specifically, there were only 218,189 students enrolled in the private higher education in 2009, including both universities and colleges, representing 12.7 per cent of the total enrolment of students in higher education5

1 Thu, DTH (2013), ibid. 2 Thu, DTH (2013), Ibid. 3 Thu, DTH (2013), Ibid.

4 Lam, Q.T (2013) Non-public education system in Vietnam Retrieved from http://chrd.edu.vn/site/en/?p=611. 5 Dang, Q.A (2009) Recent higher education reforms in Vietnam: The role of the World Bank Working Paper Number

474 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Table Vietnam Higher education Institutions 1987-20091

1987 1997 2009

Public institutions 101 111 295 Private institutions 15 81

Total 101 126 376

Third, the growth in student enrolments in higher education

Since Doi Moi (1986), there has been a rapid growth in student enrolments in higher education in Vietnam Specifically, student enrolments have increased 2.4 times in the period 1997-2009 and are nearly 12 times more than they were in 19872

Table Student Enrolment and Graduates in Higher education Institutions in Vietnam 1987-2009

1987 1997 2009 Growth % 1987-2009 Number of higher

education 101 126 376 372 Number of students 133,136 715,231 1,719,499 1,291 Number of graduates 19,900 73,736 222,665 1,118

More recent statistics show that uuniversities and enrollment at the tertiary level has grown dramatically in Vietnam over the last decade, with the national gross enrollment ratio (college enrollment as a percentage of the total college-age population) rising from 10 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2005, and 25 percent in 2014, according to data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (see the below chart)

1 MOET (2009) Báo cáo trình phát triển hệ thống giáo dục đại học: giải pháp đảm bảo chất lượng đào tạo

và nâng cao chất lượng giáo dục [Report on the development of higher education system: Solutions to ensure quality assurance and improve educational quality] Retrieved from http://www.moet.gov.vn/?page=1.19&view=1736

2 MOET (2009) Báo cáo trình phát triển hệ thống giáo dục đại học: giải pháp đảm bảo chất lượng đào tạo

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Nevertheless, in terms of the Gross Enrolment Rate (GER)1, Vietnam still has a low rate compared

with that of other countries Specifically, the GER of Vietnamese higher education is variously estimated in the range of 13 per cent - 16 per cent, whereas the participation rate of Australia is 82 per cent - almost six times higher than that of Vietnam2 Because of that, Vietnam has set a GER target of

45 per cent by year 2020.3 However, this target is still lower than the rate of at least 50 per cent which

is critical for sustaining a developed economy as well as for supporting solutions for international industry competitiveness, particularly in the wake of globalization4.

3 National framework or mechanism on the promotion and protection of the right of access to higher education in Vietnam

The promotion and protection of the right of access to higher education is closely linked to the reform of the higher education system This issue is very interested by Vietnam due to the following reasons:

First, to meet the demand for high-level human resources for the economy: Since Doi Moi, the

market economy requires more and more high-quality human resources, which the past centralised and funded higher education system found it difficult to satisfy.5 The ability to participate effectively

in the global economy and the capacity to respond to the high economic growth rate required higher education to be revitalised so that young people were well-prepared for jobs in both the financial and industrial sectors6 The provision of a qualified workforce was, therefore, an important part of the

Vietnamese Government’s strategy for higher education reform7.

Second, to meet the demand for high quality higher education of local students: This nonother

pressure on Vietnamese higher education system Since Doi Moi, due to the low quality of local higher education, there was an increasing number of Vietnamese students going abroad to study or choosing to enrol in collaborative programs conducted in Vietnam by foreign universities Within two recent decades, Vietnam has risen to become a significant source of international students for a number of countries around the world, most notably Australia and the United States which, combined, enrolled 36 percent of the approximately 106,000 overseas Vietnamese students in 2012 (see below chart) China is also the other major destination of choice for Vietnamese students, enrolling 13,500 in 2011, while Asia on the whole accounts for an estimated 34 percent of international enrolments (36,000) This share is likely to grow, according to observers, who point to the price sensitivity of Vietnamese students and recruitment efforts of countries like Singapore and Taiwan, both of which are increasingly popular destinations for Vietnamese students Thus, for Vietnamese higher education

1 The GER is defined as the number of students enrolled in the sub-sector or sub-division as a proportion of the relevant

age group in the population (students enrolled per 10,000 of the population)

2 Sheridan, G (2010) Vietnam Higher Education Sector Analysis In ADB Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report -

Vietnam: Preparing the higher education sector development project (HESDP) Retrieved from http://www.adb.org/ Documents/Reports/Consultant/VIE/42079/42079-01- vie-tacr-03.pdf

3 MOET (2009), ibid. 4 Sheridan, G (2010).

5 Nguyen, V.N (2006) Các giải pháp triển khai phương thức đào tạo theo tín trường Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

[Solutions for the implementation of the credit transfer education system at Hanoi National University] Working paper for the VUN Conference, Da Nang, 2006

476 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS to be more competitive, quality assurance and an expanded range of higher education opportunities were two important components of the Government’s reform strategies1

In order to improve quality of higher education system, making it plays a significant role in preparing human resources for the country and assists the achievement of economic development goals, Vietnam has implemented several reforms over the recent decades

The Education Strategic Plan for 2001-2010

The Education Strategic Plan for 2001-2010 of Vietnam was developed by the MOET with the aim of diversifying, standardising, modernising and increasing social participation in education, enabling education to actively take part in the implementation of the Socio-economic Development Plan for 2001-20102 As highlighted by UNESCO, major goals identified for the implementation of

the plan were to: (i) improve education quality; (ii) undertake curriculum reform; (iii) recruit teaching staff to meet the increase in enrolment and for the quality improvement; (iv) increase effectiveness and the innovation of the teaching – learning method: from teacher centred to learner centred methods; (v) innovate the education management; (vi) create the legal basis and bring into play the internal forces for education development3

The implementation of the Education Strategic Plan for 2001-2010 was divided into two phases In Phase (2001-2005), the major focus was ‘to create the basic changes in education quality, to innovate content, methods and curriculum, to build up teaching staff, to innovate education management, to enhance social participation and to create a solid base for achieving strategic goals in the second phase’ of the plan4 In order to this, many higher education reform projects were undertaken, aimed

at ‘improving the efficiency and transparency through restructuring the institutions, the administrative

1 Thu, DTH (2013), Ibid. 2 MOET (2013), ibid.

3 UNESCO (2013) Session 8: International Commitments (EFA, MDG,PRGS) and National Education Sector

Planning UNESCO Course on Decentralised Education Planning in the Context of Public Sector Management Reform Retrieved from http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/UNESCO-MI-Course- Material/Session- 8/Paper%20 8.1.%20International%20Commitments%20&%20National%20E ducation%20SectorPlanning.pdf

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organisation, reforming service and public finances’.1 Some of these projects include revision of

curricula, content and textbooks, improvements in education management and in the management and training of non-public universities, the establishment of open universities and the transfer of management to institutions2.

In the Phase II (2006-2010), the Government continued its educational reforms by approving the Socio- Economic Development Plan (SEDP) The SEDP aimed to increase investment in education and ‘to reach the advanced education standards of the region and the world’.3 The SEDP’s goals were

to be achieved by improving higher education quality, including modernising curriculum and teaching methodologies, by revising budget planning and policies, human resourcing and organisational matters and by delivering stronger decentralisation and a clearer delineation of responsibilities and authority.4

The MOET claims that the Education Strategic Plan for 2001-2010 has made an impact on higher education of Vietnam, including improvements to the size and types of higher education, diversification in the forms of education available and the increased involvement of different stakeholders in higher education reforms to meet the demands of socio-economic development of the country.5

Higher education Reform Agenda 2006-2020 (HERA)

As an extension of the earlier reform, the Government of Vietnam, with the aim of continuing the modernising the higher education system by 2020, approved a resolution to adopt ‘substantial and comprehensive renewal of Vietnam’s higher education in the 2006-2020 period’, which aims to make Vietnamese higher education system achieve ‘international standards, highly competitive and appropriate to the socialist-oriented market mechanism’.6 The higher education Reform Agenda

(HERA) was developed by the MOET to achieve these aims

HERA presented 32 ‘ambitious and broad’ objectives, covering all aspects of higher education; however, it did not specify how these objectives were to be realised over time7 Four key objectives

are:8 (i) to confer legal autonomy on higher education institutions so that they can be given the right to

decide and be responsible for training, research, human resource management and budget planning; (ii) to eliminate line-ministry control and to develop a mechanism for having State ownership represented within public higher education institutions; (iii) to develop a system for quality assurance and accreditation for higher education, improve on the legislative and regulatory environment and accelerate the State’s stewardship role in monitoring and inspecting the overall structure and scale of higher education; and (iv) to develop a Higher education law

1 Henaff, N., Lange, L-F., & Tran, T.K.T (2007) Vietnam country case study Country profile prepared for the Education

for All Global Monitoring Report 2008; Education for All 2015: Will we make it? United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

2 Thu, DTH (2013), Ibid. 3 Sheridan (2010), ibid 4 Sheridan (2010), ibid 5 MOET (2009), ibid

6 Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.(2005b) Nghị số 14/2005/NQ-CP việc đổi

toàn diện giáo dục đại học Việt Nam 2006-2020 [Resolution No 14/2005/NQ-CP on the basic and total renovation of higher education in Vietnam 2006-2020] Hanoi: MOET’s Office

7 World Bank (2008), ibid.

478 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Three other objectives that are also of significance are:1 (i) full development of a higher education

curriculum that supports research and provides students with career options, and that is effectively integrated, fully responsive to quality assurance processes, and delivered by higher education institutions that are properly accredited and that meet international standards; (ii) the achievement of a marked increase in the number of qualified higher education staff and managers, sufficient to ensure that the higher education student-teacher ratio is below 20:1, and that, by 2020, at least 60 per cent of all academic staff have a masters level degree and at least 35 per cent have a doctoral degree; and (iii) the advancement of scientific and technological research and development activity within key higher education institutions, such that this activity generates at least 15 per cent of the total higher education institution revenue by 2010 and 25 per cent by 2020

In general, the HERA was to be achieved by implementing a number of reform measures to reinforce accountability for higher education management The first measure of reform was to provide higher education with more autonomy so that higher education could transfer to institutional self-management and be fully responsible for their sustainable development2 The second measure

of reform was the construction of an effective legislative system for higher education management, encompassing a redefinition of the role of the Government in the establishment and monitoring of a quality assurance and accreditation mechanism for the higher education system3 Further, the

improvement of research and development at higher education and investment in scientific and technological research for commercialisation purposes was promoted under the higher education4

All these measures were intended to make the system ‘more aligned with international standards’ in terms of educational quality.5

4 Promotion and protection of the right of access to higher education in Vietnam: Opportunities and Challenges

4.1 Opportunities

There are some favorable factors to promotion and protection of the right of access to higher education in Vietnam including:

Vietnamese tradition of fondness for learning: Vietnam is one of the countries with longstanding

tradition of fondness for learning This tradition is at present still very strong Most Vietnamese people understand the importance and significance of education, and have a deep belief in the benefits of education Therefore, going to college becomes a motivation for most young people, and pride of families This tradition has positive impact on the enrollment rate of local universities, and drives the efforts of families to provide their children with university education Enrollment in higher education has grown dramatically over the last decade, with the national gross enrollment ratio (university/ college enrollment as a percentage of the total university/college-age population) standing at around 25 percent The number of potential students far exceeds available classroom seats These are all a good basis for promoting and protecting the right of access to higher education

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Development of higher education system: In the last 30 years of reform, Vietnam’s higher education

has experienced significant development, expansion of enrollments, extension of training objectives and diversification of ownership and resources for investment At present, there are 445 universities and colleges in Vietnam and the Vietnamese government introduced plans under a program called the New Model University Project to significantly increase the total number of universities by 2020

The Vietnamese Government has also acknowledged shortcomings in the current higher education system and recently changed its tone toward international standards With approximately 20 percent of Vietnam’s national budget (or US$10 billion), is devoted to education, the education reform in general higher education is promising significant improvements in the coming years

In addition to public institutions, private universities are permitted to operate and charge tuition Currently, the private sector accounts for approximately 20 percent of schools, providing more opportunities for local students to access to higher education

In addition, foreign investment on higher education is recognized and encouraged in Vietnam Foreign higher education institution establishment, foreign-backed joint venture universities and collaboration programs between Vietnamese and foreign institutions are among the possibilities that Vietnamese students can access

Reform of Higher Education

The Higher Education Renovation Project for 2006-2020 period sset up the overall objectives of the renovation of higher education over the next 15 years are: to make fundamental changes in higher education quality and size; to improve institutional and system competitiveness; and to make higher education institutions responsive to - and operate efficiently within - the socialist-oriented market mechanism On that basis, higher education can better fulfill its mission of training highly qualified human resources that meet the country’s socio-economic development requirements and people’s learning needs

To achieve the above objectives, universities, colleges and the entire higher education sub- sector will expand enrollments to meet the target of 200 students/10,000 people by 2010 and 450 students/10,000 people by 2020 In addition, a modern higher education system with an appropriate qualification structure and network will be established to meet the demands for highly qualified human resources for industrialization and modernization

The Higher Education Renovation Project therefore promises promoting the right of access to higher education in Vietnam in the coming years in all aspects of accessibility, acceptability, adaptability, and availability

480 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Strategic Plan has to be placed in the context of global citizen education given fierce competition in tertiary and vocational education towards cross-country knowledge transfer.”1

4.2 Challenges

Despite the encouraging results achieved since Doi Moi, there are various challenges to the promotion and protection of the right of access to higher education in Vietnam, which relate to all issues of accessibility, acceptability, adaptability, and availability

Accessibility

According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), accessibility includes the aspects2: (i) Coverage: All persons must be covered without discrimination of any

kind, especially individuals belonging to the most disadvantaged groups In order to achieve universal coverage, non-contributory measures in addition to contributory schemes must be used; (ii) Eligibility: The selection used for the identification of beneficiaries within a programme must be reasonable, proportionate and transparent; (iii) Affordability: If a social protection programme requires contributions, then the contributions must be stipulated in advance The direct and indirect costs and charges associated with making contributions must be affordable for all; (iv) Participation and information: Beneficiaries of social protection programmes must be able to participate in the administration of the programme, as well as have the right to seek, receive and impart information on entitlements in a clear and transparent manner; (v) Physical access: Benefits must be provided in a timely manner and beneficiaries must have physical access to receive benefits and information Particular attention must be paid in this regard to persons with disabilities, migrants and persons living in remote, disaster-prone or conflict areas

While reviewing current policy and the situation of higher education in Vietnam, one can see that the main challenges relate to two aspects of affordability In this regard, Vietnam has always confirmed the equity of access very much in line with “admission to higher education should be based on the merit, capacity, efforts, perseverance and devotion and can take place in a lifelong scheme, at any time, with due recognition of previous acquired skills”3 However, the fact is that at present,

certain groups (women, ethnic minorities, the less privileged, those from particular regional areas) are not represented in higher education proportionately in terms of their numbers in the population4 The

reason for this is that poverty in Vietnam has a geographical aspect, the poorer regions tend to have fewer higher institutions and people just cannot pay for their tuition fee and living expenses and this consequently results in a lower level of enrolment5.

1 Vietnam Education Development Strategic Plan joins world trends Wednesday, The Voice of Vietnam (VOV5),

September 18, 2019, at https://vovworld.vn/en-US/news/vietnam-education-development-strategic-plan-joins-world-trends-785121.vov

2 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment No 19: The right to

social security (Art of the Covenant), February 2008, E/C.12/GC/19, available at: http://www.refworld.org/ docid/47b17b5b39c.html [accessed September 2018]

3 UNESCO (1998), ibid.

4 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Higher Education Reform in Vietnam: Current Situation, Challenges and Solutions

VNU Journal of Science, Vol 31, No 85-97

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Acceptability

Acceptability refers to sensitizing a social protection programme toward the multiple forms of discrimination that might arise at the intersection of race, gender, class, ethnicity, disability or other identities and backgrounds1 In this regard, although Vietnam has joined the UN Convention on

the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since 2013 and adopted a Law on Persons with Disabilities since 2010, there are very few of practical measures to ensure the rights of this group In terms of higher education, there is no any specific policies to support students with disabilities, while facilities (classrooms, library, offices, toilets ) of most universities have not met the minimum standards for people with disabilities Thus, the number of students with disabilities makes a negligible proportion of the total students in Vietnam

The lack of minimum conditions for people with disabilities in universities can be considered as a discrimination against people with disabilities in the enjoyment of the right of access to higher education in Vietnam

In addition, acceptability also refers to the assistance to poor students Relating to this issue, a recent survey shows that the current student loan limit at VND 1,500,000 (70 USD) per month2 is not

enough for students who are from poor families to “survive”

Adaptability

Adaptability means that the education system should be constructed in ways that recognize and accommodate the local context, in order to reach all groups of society In this regard, the challenge facing Vietnam’s higher education is the lack of universities of recognized quality Up to date, there is very few Vietnamese university appears in any list of leading regional and world universities Up to date, Vietnam has only universities in the overall Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which are: Hanoi University of Science and Technology (801–1000th); Vietnam National

University, Hanoi (801–1000th); Vietnam National University (Ho Chi Minh City) (1001th)3

In addition, there is a severe lack of close links between local universities and scientific research, businesses, industries and employers That is further confirmed by Hoang Tuy who states: “The Vietnamese university system is heavily influenced by the Soviet academic system, in which universities were primarily teaching institutions, while research was carried out by research institutes”.4

1 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment No 19: The right to

social security (Art of the Covenant), February 2008, E/C.12/GC/19, available at: http://www.refworld.org/ docid/47b17b5b39c.html [accessed September 2018]

482 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Table Publications in Peer-Review Journals 20071

Institution Country Publications Seoul National University Republic of Korea 5.060 National University of Singapore Singapore 3.598 Peking University China 3.219 Fudan University China 2.343 Mahidol University Thailand 950

Chulalongkom Thailand 822 University of Malaysia Malaysia 504 University of Philippines Philippines 220 Vietnam National University Vietnam 52

The main reason is the inappropriate structure of the higher education system of Vietnam Specifically, the network of local universities and research academies is separated thus reducing investment efficiency and the quality of training and research Moreover, research is not paid due attention to, teaching is not yet closely linked with research and service for social life.2

Low quality also means higher education system of Vietnam can not respond to the emerging demands of a growing economy, that is, to satisfy the requirements for human resources of the country’s industrialization and modernization and people’s learning requirements Moreover, the training scope has not yet met the requirements of industrialization and modernization; there is imbalance between supply and demand.3

Adaptability also relates to training content and methods In this regard, training quality and efficiency of higher education system of Vietnam are still low Specifically, training programs are inflexible focusing on theory rather than practice, while learning and teaching methods are outdated4

According to an assessment, curricula of higher education institutions of Vietnam not meet the needs of about 60% young laborers who graduated, and the graduated students normally have to be retrained for at least 6-12 months after being recruited5 That explains why about 50% of Vietnamese

university graduates cannot find jobs in their area of specialization6.

In order to improve their training quality and efficiency, local universities have recently introduced internal quality measures, but still lacks external quality measures7

Availability

In this area of education, availability refers to ensuring the conditions for learning, including physical conditions such as classrooms, books, and also teachers In this regard, the challenge to higher education of Vietnam relates to finance The financial resources for higher education system of

1 Source: Science Citation Index Expanded, Thomson Reuters. 2 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid.

3 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid. 4 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid.

5 Nuffic Neso Vietnam (2010), Trends in Vietnamese education reform, 18 March, 2010. 6 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid.

7 World Bank, Vietnam (2007), Higher education and skills for growth, Human Development Department, East Asia

483

PA RT - CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN ASEAN MEMBER STATES: THE CASE STUDY OF MYANMAR AND VIETNAM

Vietnam are limited, mainly relying on the State’s budget, which is only 0.41% of GDP in 2002 out of a total of 4.22% for all levels of education1 In terms of expenditure on higher education, Vietnam

compares poorly to the rest of the region and the rest of the world (average is 1.22%)2 In addition, the

centrally determined structure of funding proves to be inefficient and counter-productive, while most of higher education institutions in Vietnam are inactive in finding other financial resources3.

Relating to teachers, the challenge facing higher education institutions of Vietnam is that many teachers have not yet been able to meet the requirements of quality As of 2012, there are only 77,000 higher education teachers/lecturers out of which only 9,126 have Ph.D degrees and 36,347 have master degrees; and 300,000 management personnel for the whole education system from general education to higher education4 There is a serious lack of research experts, and higher education

policy makers Moreover, many lecturers not pay due attention to research.5

Availability is also related to management Management of higher education system of Vietnam is characterized by a very high level of centralization in which the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has significant power over higher education and determines matters as varied as the detailed curriculum, student enrolment, academic assessment, award of degrees, budget decisions, infrastructure and facility maintenance6 This mechanism has not yet created self-accountability, responsibility of higher

education institutions for personnel, revenue-expenditure balance, and quality of training products7.

5 Conclusion

Vietnam has a long tradition of higher education and has built a comprehensive system of higher education institutions across the country Vietnamese people are very fond of learning and appreciate knowledge The state is also very interested in and committed to education, considering education as a national policy and the basis for development of the nation The Doi Moi reforms since 1986 have yielded great achievements in economic development, by which facilitates the promotion of education in general, and higher education in particular These are the very preconditions for promoting and protecting the right of access to higher education in Vietnam in the coming years

However, the university system of Vietnam is still outdated comparing to many countries in the world, reflecting on all aspects such as infrastructure, governance, teaching staff and education program In addition, state funding for education is limited, especially for poor students These factors are major obstacles to enjoying the right of access to higher education in Vietnam

Vietnam’s higher education reform has been paid special attention by the Vietnamese Government and Vietnamese society since it was started nearly 30 years ago and it has recorded a lot of encouraging achievements However, this reform has to be sped up to meet increasing demand and requirement of international integration

1 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid.

2 Hayden, M (2005), The legislative and regulatory environment of higher education in Vietnam Washington, DC: The

World Bank, 2005

3 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid.

4 MOET, Education Development Strategy 2011- 2020, 13 June, 2012. 5 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid.

484 ASIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Although there are still many challenges to Vietnam’s higher education have been pointed out, it is believed that they will be overcome so that higher education’s management, efficiency, quality and responsiveness and quantitative capacity can surely be improved1 In addition, the Government

should pay more attention to disadvantaged groups by promoting economic growth in their localities, facilitating education environment, as well as revising student scholarship and loan policies to finance education costs; all in order to improve access to higher education2

In order to better promote and protect the right of access to higher education in Vietnam, number of measures must be taken to overcome the shortcomings and challenges to local higher education system above mentioned, of which the important solutions include:

First, continue to reform the higher education system

It is necessary to set up a master plan of the network of higher education institutions in such a way that with their structure of professions and training levels, which is rationally distributed over the whole country and in each province in conformity with population density and strategies of socio- economic development, national defense and security In addition, it is timely and needed to set up a flexible and articulated training process, renewing the objectives, contents, teaching and learning methods in higher education, as well as building up a contingent of highly qualified, devoted and capable teaching and administrative staff with advanced and modern teaching and management methods3.

Reforming higher education system should include renovating the management towards raising autonomy in such a way that Vietnam’s universities are no longer subject to a highly centralized system of control of a government agency Further, it is also necessary to change the financial mechanism for higher education with an aim to diversify financial resources and enhance investment efficiency

Second, promoting international cooperation and exchange

Expanding international cooperation and exchange as considered as ‘an integral part of the institutional missions of higher education institutions” and “the major avenues for advancing higher education throughout the world”4 International academic cooperation and exchange can gradually

help to narrow the gap between Vietnam and other countries in higher education Broader international exchange would bring about an overall improvement in training and research quality as well as the change from the “brain drain” to “brain gain” in Vietnam5

Third, increasing investment in higher education institutions.

The Government should increase funding for the construction and renovation of universities in order to ensure that the infrastructural facilities are accessible to everyone, especially students with disabilities The Government should also increase funding and / or issue a policy of calling for scholarships or interest-free loans to poor students, especially poor students in mountainous and ethnic minority areas

1 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid. 2 Thu, DTH (2013), Ibid.

3 Nha, NV and Tu, VN (2015) Ibid. 4 UNESCO (1998) Ibid.

485

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