The story about education, about the central budget spent on the Ministry of Education and Training, is a story that we have talked about in many articles. The budget for Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security is 16 times higher than that for the Ministry of Education. Not to mention the philosophy of education, just talking about the budget, it is clear how the Communist Party of Vietnam is looking down on education. With a budget of only $260 million for the Ministry of Education, it cannot build more schools and raise salaries for teachers.
Currently, the Ministry of Public Security is approved to spend nearly VND100 trillion ($4.2 billion) a year. The police forces have enough money to build monuments and theaters, which are very expensive, right in Hanoi. In addition, Minister To Lam set up the Association of Former policemen, to get more funding from the state budget. Meanwhile, Hanoi seriously lacks public schools for high school students. The situation is so serious that it is even more difficult for students to get into the 10th grade of a public school than to get into a university. The Ministry of Public Security has a lot of money, and the Ministry of Education has a shortage.
Currently, students apply for the entrance exam to the police training schools are very crowded. These schools get very high marks, because of the high competition ratio, while the pedagogy is estranged. It’s also true, the police forces have a lot of money, and the education branch can’t make money. Who enters the pedagogical school? One can get in, until graduates from school to teach and only earn from VND6 million-VND8 million per month, how one will survive? That’s why the irony happened that many teachers quit their job and asked to go abroad to work to change their life.
The policy of gun preference over pen is the consistent policy of the Communist Party. Why do they always spend small amounts on education? The Communist Party needs stupid people, obedient people, not knowledgeable people. The more knowledgeable the people, the harder it is for the Party to rule.
On August 2, at the Conference to comment on the implementation of the 2018 General Textbook Program, organized by the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the National Committee for Culture and Education. Nguyen Thi Doan, former Vice President of the State, said „There must be a salary policy, through a separate salary table for teachers, otherwise teachers are not enough. Where are the conditions to follow the profession?“
This problem has been reflected in society for a long time, but the Communist government has not changed. Still the policy of injecting money for the Police is flooded, and the money for education is dripping. That way of spending the budget says it all, it’s the thought of neglecting education and putting it all on the police. It is unclear whether former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan dares to speak to the root of the problem in front of her Party or not?
The current trend in the world is that governments move towards subsidizing public education. Rich countries provide free education to the people, poor countries subsidize education, so that all sections of society can access education. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the opposite. Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training has a policy for schools to be self-financed. What is financial self-sufficiency? It is forcing parents to buy school education at an expensive price. They have not been subsidizing education and forced people to pay for low-quality education.
No matter Doan or anyone else, the Communist government will not change. They have been consistent over the years. They need to pour a lot of money into the police to raise a large forces to monitor the people and protect the regime. A large education budget is a fantasy for this regime, although it is easy to increase the education budget without increasing the total expenditure, just cut the budget of the police department and switch to education.
Education in Vietnam has to be like that, nothing else.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
