Vietnam: Exploring the Deep Determinants of Learning

Vietnam鈥檚 education system and its performance around learning can be traced to the country's political settlement and commitment to promoting education

Abstract

Many features of Vietnam鈥檚 education system and its performance around learning can be traced to specific features of the country鈥檚 political settlement and an extraordinary and sustained societal commitment to promoting education. Public spending on education exceeds 5.5 percent of Vietnam鈥檚 rapidly expanding GDP, outpacing other countries in the region and in the same income group. Despite international test results, the general consensus in Vietnam is that the education system is underperforming and the knowledge, learning, and skills that Vietnamese children need (and want) remains lacking. Although many efforts have been made to reduce inequality in the school system, there is an increasing sense that it is not what you know, but who you know and whether individuals can afford the informal costs associated with quality education in Vietnam. Vietnam displays high levels of public engagement around education, with extensive coverage and debate on education policy. Vietnam鈥檚 education system, like education systems in all countries, is deeply embedded in its social context.

This research is part of the 鈥楻esearch on Improving Systems of Education鈥� programme

Citation

London, J. 2019. Vietnam: Exploring the Deep Determinants of Learning. RISE Insight. https://doi.org/10.35489/BSG-RISE-RI_2019/011.

Updates to this page

Published 29 May 2020