Ho Chi Minh meets the market: Public and private higher education in Viet Nam

Authors

  • Anthony Welch University of Sydney

Abstract

The current Vietnamese higher education system is a site of contradiction, between the demands of socialism and the trend towards a market economy. While moves to extend market principles in Viet Nam continue, the role of its higher education system and its Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in promoting socialism has been retained. Significant cultural differences remain between a more entrepreneurial South, and a more conservative and cultural North. Various social, political and historical constraints have persisted to slow or prevent reforms in the higher education sector. The mix of public and private universities raises problems such as lack of resources, over-enrolment, entry standards, and especially the quality of education. Even so, and within the framework of socialism, it is likely that private sector growth will outstrip growth in the public sector in the future in an attempt to meet growing educational demand.

Author Biography

  • Anthony Welch, University of Sydney
    Anthony Welch is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, where he was until recently, Head, School of Policy and Practice. Widely published on Australian and international education, he has been Visiting Professor in Japan, USA, Germany, and the UK, and has significant Asia experience, as both a researcher and consultant. His two most recent books are
    The Professoriate: Profile of a Profession (Springer 2005) and the jointly authored Education, Change and Society (Oxford 2006).

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Published

2013-02-26

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2007)

Section

General Refereed Papers

License

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