(VNN) - The tentative regulation to force Vietnamese students studying abroad to return within three years after graduation will be applied to only students funded by the State. It will not affect students who study with their own money, the Ministry of Education says.Former MOET Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department Nguyen Ngoc Hung, who is now Secretary of the committee in charge of drafting the document on overseas student management, clarified the terms after students and educators criticized the draft document.
Hung said that students may have misunderstood. Many thought that all overseas students will be required to return to Vietnam after they finish studying.
In a recent interview with Dan Tri newspaper, Hung explained that the main goal is to help ministries and branches plan for the future labour force. Proper management of overseas students will provide an overall picture, based on which ministries can make decisions about how many students should be sent to study and in what fields. Moreover, when the State sends students abroad, a reasonable plan to use the trained students must be in place.
Dan Tri: Do you think that once students are put under the management of many ministries, this will cause difficulties and inconvenience to them?
Nguyen Ngoc Hung: The involvement of many ministries and branches will only benefit the students, especially students who study abroad with their own money. There are now many students who study abroad, which has not been controlled by MOET.
This is really a shortcoming in management. Now we request other ministries and branches to join in the management of overseas students, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).
We also try to stipulate clearly the responsibilities of Vietnamese representative agencies in foreign countries to assist students in their studies and lives. The agencies will be requested to report every six months on the students to relevant ministries.
As for state-funded students, they must report on their studies result no later than 90 days after they finish to MOET or MOLISA, while self-funded students will report to either the two ministries or people’s committees.
The draft document aims to build a database to manage overseas students and inform authorities about how many students they have and what study branches they follow, so as to arrange the future labour force effectively. The database will also show overseas students which areas need officers and in which fields.
DT: As you may know, overseas students have protested the tentative regulation that overseas students will not be allowed to stay in foreign countries for more than three years after they finish studying. Do you think that this will be unfair to students?
Hung: The draft has caused misunderstandings. Now I can say for certain that the tentative regulation will apply to state-funded students only. It is reasonable to request students who study with state’s money to return to serve their homeland.
Previously, students studying abroad always had to make commitments to return to work in Vietnam right after they finished their courses. Many students have argued that they need to stay longer to study further and obtain more experience. Therefore, MOET plans to allow them to stay for up to three additional years.
DT: How about the regulation to make students who earn money in foreign countries pay taxes in Vietnam?
Hung: This would also target state-funded students. Paying taxes is a duty of citizens to their country.
