Educating Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam: Po

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Educating Ethnic Minorities in

Findings confirm that economic disparities, geographic isolation, and societal prejudices are underlying causes for the inferior education available to members of minority groups, including women. 168 KAPPA KAPPADELTA DELTAPIPIRECORD RECORD• •SUMMER SUMMER2007 2007 168

Vietnam: Policies and Perspectives


by Rosalie Giacchino-Baker

For many Americans, Vietnam retains an identity and a legacy of wartime controversies and suffering. Though these historical realities may echo in the lives of older citizens in Vietnam, the country’s current goal is economic development. With peace has come time for the government to focus on rebuilding the physical and social infrastructures of the country—including education, a long-standing cultural value. Teacher education programs in Vietnam, like their counterparts in most multicultural societies, struggle to address the issues of access, equity, and excellence. The nation’s minority groups, about 13 percent of the population, traditionally have not gained admission to educational opportunities on a par with members of the majority group, alternately called the Viet or Kinh. Schooling for ethnic minorities is often of inferior quality at both elementary and secondary levels, leading to decreased access to higher levels, such as teacher education institutions and universities. These inequities have resulted from lack of financial resources, lack of understanding of minority needs and, at times, planned differential policies. The results have been prejudicial against minority groups, especially women. The current government is attempting to rectify inequitable practices, knowing that this will take years of effort. That effort involves accurate needs assessments and the redressing of past problems through equitable educational planning which includes a strong commitment to remove underlying causes of problems such as economic conditions and discrimination (both individual and institutionalized). Rosalie Giacchino-Baker, Director of the International Institute and Professor of Education at California State University, San Bernardino, specializes in second-language, multicultural, and international education. She has worked in France, Micronesia, England, Belize, Mexico, China, Thailand, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Vietnam, Argentina, and Cuba.

About the Study The researcher, hired by Vietnam’s National Ministry of Education and Training to act as a consultant on a Lower Secondary Teacher Training Project funded by the Asian Development Bank and administered by GOPA Consultants of Germany, spent three months in Vietnam during a recent two-phase project. The first phase of the project consisted of conducting needs assessments related to the education of minority groups. The second phase focused on facilitating workshops based on research findings. This article discusses only the needs assessment portion of this project.

“Teacher education programs in Vietnam, like their counterparts in most multicultural societies, struggle to address the issues of access, equity, and excellence.” Site visits and interviews were selected as the most effective ways to determine the needs of the complex web of stakeholders. Interview protocols were developed for administrators, teachers, and minority students in Teacher Training Colleges and Upper Secondary Boarding Schools; as well as for elders and parents in minority villages. Interviews were conducted in Vietnamese. The U.S. researcher’s questions and interviewees’ responses were translated into English by an interpreter. These responses

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were recorded in both Vietnamese (by the Vietnamese researcher and interpreter) and in English (by the U.S. researcher). Interview notes were reviewed for accuracy and then analyzed by both researchers prior to writing reports and recommendations. Informal protocols for administrators consisted of ten core questions (each with follow-up questions). The questions elicited critical information on teacher training systems, bureaucratic relationships, recruitment of students, participation of ethnic minorities, entrance standards, minority community involvement, general problems, and suggestions for future programs. Interview protocols for teachers consisted of five basic questions (also with follow-up questions). Teachers were asked about their experiences working with minority students, any comparisons they could make between the successes of majority and minority students, their school’s relationship with minority villages in the area, problems they face educating minority students, and their ideas for increasing minority participation in teacher education programs. Researchers had to rely on the arrangements made by administrators, who provided access to students despite the challenges of class schedules and school vacations. Minority students were asked five questions (with followups). The questions dealt with their educational experiences before coming to the school, their experiences as a minority student at the school, the school’s relationship with people in their village, the financial issues involved in their schooling, and their ideas for making any new programs fit their needs. Interviews with administrators, teachers, and students, conducted individually or in groups, lasted from 10 minutes to several hours. Student interviews were the shortest and most inconsistent in terms of length. Interviews often were conducted with governmental repre-

sentatives present. Though their presence did not stop interviewers from asking sensitive follow-up questions about discrimination or economic problems, it may have inhibited some respondents from answering as fully as they may have done in private. Given the complexity of stakeholders and bureaucracies, these interviews and site visits were conducted as efficiently and openly as possible. Each trip was coordinated through Department of Education and Ministry of Education representatives. Because this study was conducted as part of a government project, it would be very difficult for a private researcher to replicate it. The researcher and her Vietnamese counterpart visited a total of six out of the ten “disadvantaged” provinces throughout Vietnam: Lao Cai, Tra Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Ha Giang.

The researcher interviewed teachers and students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Ha Giang, Vietnam.

About Vietnam

“Economic conditions and inequities continue to be the primary causes of education gaps in Vietnam.”

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The national 1999 census found that the majority Viet group comprises 86.2 percent of Vietnam’s population of 76.3 million people. The 54 ethnic groups (including the Viet) can be divided into five language families: Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Thai-Kadai, Sino-Tibetan, and Hmong-Dao. Vietnam’s minority ethnic groups are scattered across 45 of the 61 provinces, but the percentage of minority populations is highest in 13 provinces of the Northern Highlands and Central Highlands where the country’s poorest communes are also located. Economic conditions and inequities continue to be the primary causes of education gaps in Vietnam (Asian Development Bank 1999; Baulch et al. 2002; Chapman and Adams 2002; Dang, Chu, and Luu 2000; van de Walle and Gunewardena 2000).


Vietnam’s history evidences a long-standing respect and dedication to education based on Confucian ideals. Before the French colonial period that started in about 1875, many Vietnamese had some degree of literacy. By 1939, the elitist French educational system had left 80 percent of Vietnam’s population illiterate, with only 15 percent of school-age children attending school. A devastating by-product of the “American War” was the destruction of most of any stability still existing in educational structures in both the North and South. Following the country’s unification in 1975, the national education policy was founded on Ho Chi Minh’s philosophy: “Illiterates must regard study as a right and an obligation; literates are dutybound to teach illiterates; women must all the more study [sic]” (Pham 1998, 71). According to the Asian Development Bank’s (2001) report on the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion, Vietnam has made good progress in education during the past 50 years, with the number of secondary school graduates doubling since 1989. UNESCO (2002) estimated that 93.8 percent of the adult population of Vietnam (ages 15 and older) was literate in 2002. Illiteracy rates for women (8 percent), however, are nearly double those of men (4.3 percent). An even larger gap exists for minority groups, whose literacy rates reach only 73 percent for persons over the age of 10. Seventy percent of all illiterates live in remote provinces and in the Mekong River Delta area. Though equality among ethnic groups is guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution and Vietnam’s government has established educational affirmative action policies for minority groups, many question the optimistic picture of progress often painted in national newspapers. According to Pham (1998), this reported access to an equitable education is arguable and does not exist for all minority children. In 1998, Vietnam lacked 58,000 teachers. Between 1990 and 1997, the student/teacher ratio in lower secondary schools increased from 19 to 29.2, and the average class size increased from 36 to 41.7. Similar increases were reported at the upper secondary level. Statistics on class size are not

available for this same time period for primary schools, but the total number of students increased sizeably by 15 percent (Ministry of Education and Training 2000). The situation continues to be most serious in areas with ethnic minority populations because each of these provinces are lacking between 1,000 and 1,500 teachers (Asian Development Bank 2001). Because of this shortage, many volunteers or unqualified teachers with poor instructional skills are now teaching in remote classrooms. Low salaries resulting in high rates of turnover and absenteeism compound the dilemma. According to the Ministry of Education and Training (as reported by Pham [1998]), in 1995–96 only 70.7 percent of primary teachers met educational standards. The numbers were higher at the secondary level—83.8 percent for lower secondary teachers and 93.3 percent for upper secondary teachers. The Asian Development Bank’s (2001) report on the Greater Mekong Subregion stated that 40–50 percent of teachers in primary schools in mountainous areas had not met educational standards for Vietnam. These statistics come to life through the voices and experiences of minority parents who were interviewed during this study. The following are examples of two sets of parents—one in the South and one in the North.

Voices of Minority Parents in the South Nguyet Hoa Village, located in southern Vietnam in the Mekong Delta about five kilometers outside the city of Tra Vinh, is home to ethnic Khmers whose ancestors moved to Vietnam from Cambodia hundreds of years ago. The people of this village have maintained the Khmer language and Theravada Buddhist culture while earning the respect of their Viet neighbors.

“Many volunteers or unqualified teachers with poor instructional skills are now teaching in remote classrooms.”

A Khmer father from the Mekong Delta is proud that all three of his children want to become teachers.


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The Khmer family interviewed lives in a thatched house with a dirt floor, but maintains strong educational values. The older son is already a secondary school science teacher who rides his bike seven miles to teach each morning. Prior to the arrival of visitors, the older daughter was sitting at a wooden table covered with books and papers where she was studying for the entrance exams to the province’s teacher training college. The younger daughter also wants to become a teacher. The father explained that he was very happy with his children’s career choices and academic abilities. He said that he encouraged them to study even though it was a financial hardship for him to send them to school. He added, “Sometimes we have headaches when we think of how to raise our children.”

Voices of Minority Parents in the North Thanh Hoa, Vietnam’s second largest province, is home to seven different ethnic groups. One hundred communes in its mountainous areas have borders with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Ban Than Thang, a black Thai village, is located only 60 kilometers from the provincial capital, but traveling that distance takes more than two and one-half hours because of construction projects and a final stretch of seven kilometers of narrow laterite road that becomes impassable when it rains. Most houses in the village are built on stilts with thatched roofs and sides. The home visited was typical in that it had a ground-level cooking area with a raised platform for sleeping and sitting. Interviewees were a 72-year-old father of five children and grandfather of “many,” as well as his 70-year-old wife. The discussion took place on a platform where ten persons sat on mats and talked while drinking tea.

Villagers in Northern Vietnam from the black Thai ethnic group give their opinions on their children’s education.

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When asked what he thought about his grandchildren’s education, the village elder replied that he was very happy to see them go to school. He said that parents want their children to be nurses and teachers, but that it is difficult for parents to send children to school past the lower secondary level. He explained that the government does not pay for all educational expenses. At this point, his wife interjected, “Families have no buffaloes to send their children to school.” (A child’s education would cost the equivalent of a water buffalo. Families don’t have the necessary money.)

“Interviewees in minority villages expressed a desperate need for teachers who understand their children’s language and culture.”

Research Findings The following are some of the most important points learned from this study: • Interviewees in all the provinces visited described a critical shortage of ethnic minority teachers. This need is most acute in the remote and mountainous areas of the North. • Interviewees in minority villages expressed a desperate need for teachers who understand their children’s language and culture. They also stated that they would like to see their group’s history and contributions reflected in school curriculum. • Teachers and administrators at all sites described the academic background of minority students as poor. In effect, minority students’ abilities were questioned more often than the failures of the educational systems. • Contrary to stereotypes, minority villagers were agreeable to having their children (both male and female) become teachers and health service workers. Though cultural considerations may inhibit some individuals or groups from sending their children (especially daughters) far from home, most minority parents seemed motivated; what they needed was to be respectfully consulted and financially assisted.


• All ethnic minority students interviewed in Teacher Training Colleges and Upper Secondary Boarding Schools explained that their parents were proud that their sons and daughters would be teachers. Students emphasized that, to be successful, they needed financial support and academic tutoring (for entrance exams). • A few teacher interviewees described how minority students have responded well to different teaching strategies. “They learn with their eyes” (Lao Cai Teacher Training College). “Students don’t understand it when a poem describes the sun setting over the water. They only see it setting over the mountains. We have to show them pictures” (Quang Ngai Boarding School). • Teachers and administrators agreed that by the time minority students completed Upper Secondary School, their use of the Vietnamese language for social purposes was quite good. Students’ ability to use Vietnamese for academic purposes was not always as good. • Administrators interviewed stressed the need to have minority group leaders as part of all educational decisions involving minority students. Planning has to involve all stakeholders.

Implications for Minority Teachers in Vietnam Follow-up workshops for administrators and teachers were held as a direct result of this needs assessment. An increased number of minority students were admitted to Teacher Training Colleges as an outcome of this project. Though this number was smaller than projected, it is an improvement over past admissions. Needs assessments are empty rhetoric unless follow-up activities and policies are implemented. National policy and affirmative action programs are already in place in Vietnam to increase access to education for ethnic minority students. Minority village leaders are ostensibly part of the planning process for educational reforms. The Ministry of Education and Training claims to be trying to find solutions to social, educational, and economic inequities. Asian Development Bank projects, such as this one, make strong suggestions that funding should be used to determine diverse needs, engage minority leaders, increase funds for scholarships and educational facilities, expand access to all services, develop communication systems, and educate the majority about minority issues. Bureaucracy inevitably eats away at policies and plans. Socioeconomic status still affects attitudes toward minority students’ abilities. Several Vietnamese universities are involved in research projects related to the education of

minority students. The work has begun, but the progress is slow and unpredictable.

Implications for Teachers in the United States Internationalism and multiculturalism intersect in many ways. A critical examination of the multicultural issues and policies of other countries encourages educators in the United States to look at the challenges of American society more objectively. An investigation of minority education in Vietnam, for example, provides insights into the challenges of diversity in America’s past, present, and future. The implicit underlying question becomes: Are we willing to acknowledge that economic inequities, geographic location, and societal prejudices are major underlying causes for the inferior education provided to members of minority groups in the United States, as well as in Vietnam.

“Parents were proud that their sons and daughters would be teachers.”

Learning about the education of minority students in other countries is fascinating, and critiquing foreign educational policies is easier than critiquing our own. Ultimately, an article such as this not only should contribute to the body of literature on minority education in Vietnam, but also should invite American educators to promote access, equity, and excellence in their own classrooms, schools, school systems, and society.

References

Asian Development Bank. 1999. Policy on indigenous peoples. Manila, Philippines: ADB. Asian Development Bank. 2001. Health and education needs of ethnic minorities in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Manila, Philippines: ADB. Baulch, B., Truong Thi Kim Chuyen, D. Haughton, and J. Haughton. 2002. Ethnic minority development in Vietnam: A socioeconomic perspective, Policy research working paper. Washington, DC: World Bank. Chapman, D., and D. Adams. 2002. The quality of education: Dimensions and strategies. Education in developing Asia, vol. 5. Manila, Philippines: Asian Development Bank and Hong Kong, China: Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong. Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son, and Luu Hung. 2000. Ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Hanoi, Vietnam: The Gioi Publishers. Ministry of Education and Training, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 2000. Vietnam education and training directory. Hanoi, Vietnam: Education Publishing House. Pham Minh Hac. 1998. Vietnam’s education. The current position and future prospects. Hanoi, Vietnam: The Gioi Publishers. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2002. Special estimates and projections of adult illiteracy for population aged 15 years old and above, by country and by gender. Paris: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Literacy and Non Formal Education Sector. van de Walle, D., and D. Gunewardena. 2000. Sources of ethnic inequality in Viet Nam. Washington, DC: World Bank.


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