Question

Describe the features of educational system followed by french in vietnam

Answer 1

EDUCATION IN VIETNAM

The Vietnamese have a high respect for learning, inherited in part from their long domination by the Chinese. Under Confucianism, education was essential for admission to the ruling class of scholar-officials, the mandarinate. Under French rule, even though Vietnamese were excluded from the colonial power elite, education was a requisite for employment in the colonial civil service and for other white-collar, high-status jobs. In divided Vietnam, education continued to be a channel for social mobility in both the North and the South. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The Vietnamese are crazy about education. Young adults attend English classes and computer courses after they finish work. University students begin working on a second degree before finishing their first one. Stanley Karnow wrote in Smithsonian magazine: "Like other Asians, who traditionally revere scholars, they value learning. They also see education as both the path to success and consistent with their sense of filial piety, the way to bring esteem to their family." One Vietnamese-American student told Karnow: My parents "are really proud of me. So I have to keep improving, even if there is no room for improvement. I also feel their pressure. Just study, they say. I can't wash the dishes, mow the lawn or take a summer job. Their entire goal is to see me succeed. Vietnamese-Americans are among the best-performing immigrant groups in American schools. In a school in Santa Ana, California even though Vietnamese make only 15 percent of the student body, 26 of the top 33 students in 1992 were Vietnamese.

Traditionally, education has been of great importance to the Vietnamese, and the State has always set aside a significant portion of its budget for education. Teachers enjoy great respect and prestige in Vietnamese society. In Vietnam the student-teacher relationship retains much of the quality of a son's respect for his father's wisdom and of father's concern for his son's welfare. The respect that students show to the teachers is also evident in linguistic behavior. The terms of address that students use in speaking to their teachers are the same as those they use in speaking to their parents.

In 2003 Vietnam’s literacy rate was 94 percent, including 95.8 percent for men and 92.3 percent for women. However, educational attainment was less impressive. Although five years of primary school education was considered compulsory and 92 percent of eligible children were enrolled in primary school in 2000, only two-thirds completed the fifth grade. The cost of tuition, books, and uniforms and the need to supplement family income are the two main reasons for dropping out. A huge disparity exists in primary school enrollment between the cities and rural parts of Vietnam. In some rural areas, only 10 to 15 percent of the children progress beyond third grade, whereas almost 96 percent of pupils in Ho Chi Minh City complete fifth grade. In 2000 enrollment in secondary school was only 62.5 percent, much lower than in primary school. One of the government’s goals is to expand access to secondary education. *