To meet the demand of expertise for socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta, the government decided to establish first Can Tho university and then An Giang, Cuu Long, Tay Do, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh universities. Though founded late, the universities have achieved their objectives.
Start-off
Can Tho university, the first of its kinds in the Mekong Delta, is the key centre of science-technology and training graduates and post-graduates of the region. It has been expanded with 76 faculties, 21,370 students, 10,014 part-time students and 33,654 corresponding students. It has also 28 faculties of Master degree with 1,846 students and 8 faculties for researchers, together with foreign students from the US, Belgium, Japan, etc. It is also a centre of scientific research and application for socio-economic development in the region and promotion of export to world markets.
However, Can Tho university with small teaching staff could not enroll each year 40,000 high-school graduates from the region. As a result, in November 1999, An Giang university was established with the assistance of Prof. Vo Tong Xuan, former Dean of Can Tho university. In addition to university education, An Giang university has also train teachers for high schools and human resources for other provinces in the region. In 2008, the university enrolled 2,000 students increasing to total number to 10,000 and hitting the target set for 2010. In 2007-2008 school year, 1,758 students have graduated. The university has such faculties as pedagogy, food processing, bio-technology, fisheries, mechanics, building materials, environment engineering, foreign trade, rural business management, tourism, natural resources, etc.
In 2000, Cuu Long university, the first private university of the region was established in Vinh Long. In 2008, the university enrolled 2,000 students increasing the total to nearly 7,000 students from all parts of the Mekong Delta. In 2005, Tien Giang university was founded and in coordination with other universities and schools in the region operating 46 faculties and enrolling 3,600 students in 2008-2009 school-year. Meanwhile Tra Vinh university was established in 2006 with 12,000 students for 15 faculties including Khmer language and Khmer culture faculties.
Remaining problems
Presently, the total enrolment of the universities in the region is some 10,000 students and failing to meet the demand of hundreds of thousand high school graduates very year. While the average in Vietnam is an university for 0.9 million people; it is 3.37 million in the Mekong Delta. Furthermore, the education is still more for pedagogy, medicine, agriculture, forestry and foreign languages and less for high technology and economics.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has pointed out that education is the foundation of the development in the Mekong Delta. It must be developed alongside with economic development and restructuring in the region and other parts of Vietnam. In 2008-2010, the government will increase education budget of the region from 17.5 – 22 percent a year. Three more universities have been established in Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Bac Lieu and another will be founded in Vinh Long. By 2010, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will invest VND770 billion and increase the number of vocational training schools to 31 with two schools for ethnic minorities. Vinh Long Teachers’ School will be upgraded to university training more for the teaching staff in the region.
Hai Nguyen
Vietnamese
