Procedure for self-funded studies
Ha Noi, Dec. 23 (VNA) -- Procedures for self-funded studies abroad will be simplified, creating better conditions for the Vietnamese students can pay their own expenses for their studies abroad.
Representatives from consultative establishments for self-funded studies abroad nationwide gathered at a conference held by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) in Ha Noi on Dec. 22 to discuss draft legal documents and regulations relating to their management and enrolment procedures.
According to a report by Prof. Tran Van Nhung, Head of the MoET's Department for External Relations, every year, only dozens to hundreds of students can go abroad for further studies with scholarships granted by foreign countries or with the State's funding. In 1992, the Government allowed Vietnamese students to go for further studies abroad at their own expense.
Since then, the procedures for registration as well as the issue of passports and visas for Vietnamese students to go for further studies abroad have been simplified. There are now about 150,000 self-supporting Vietnamese students in Australia, the U.S., the U.K. and other countries.
Australia alone has received more than 10,000 Vietnamese students. At present, about 7,000 such students are following training programmes ranging from high school to post-graduate education, contributing USD 87 million to Australia's annual revenues.
There are also hundreds of self-supporting Vietnamese students in the U.S., the U.K., and the Netherlands.
The consultative establishments for self-funded studies abroad are bridges for such students. Viet Nam now has about 100 such establishments and their operations have been highly valued by the MoET.
However, many of them have poor professional skills and pay more attention to making profit than the students' interests. So they have created difficulties for many students who can afford to go abroad for further studies.--VNA
