VietNamNet Bridge – Eight years ago, Vietnamese studies were allowed and born. By the 2007-2008 academic year, this study branch has been available in 76 universities and junior colleges nationwide.

Curriculum, which one?

In principle, when a new study branch is launched, there is a frame curriculum set by the Ministry of Education and Training. However, in fact, every university has its own curriculum that it designs based on its own conditions and advantages.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Le Bao, from the Hanoi Pedagogical University, some universities produce students fit to work in cultural research, journalism, and teaching, while other universities train students for the jobs in tourism, while tourism is just one of hundreds of issues of Vietnam.

Currently, the curricula for Vietnamese studies have been designed by scientists from many fields, including literature, history, geography, and languages. Therefore, it is understandable that a curriculum focuses on history because it is compiled by the history experts, while another curriculum focuses on languages because it is designed by linguistics.

What will Vietnamese studies students do?

According to Dr. Pham Thu Nga, from the Saigon University, there is a bitter truth to the fact that a lot of students register themselves to Vietnamese studies just because they are not capable for other study branches. While Vietnamese studies is a new study branch, it does not require high remarks from the university entrance exams, like other study branches. The students simply want to follow higher education, with no care about the study branches and what they will do after they graduate.

Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, from Thang Long People Founded University, also said that students of Vietnamese studies find it very difficult to find jobs. It is because they receive wide, but not deep, knowledge from universities, while laborers nowadays need to have in-depth and specialized knowledge.

Hung, from the Hanoi Pedagogical University, also said that while students need to have comprehensive knowledge, they also need to have specialized knowledge in some fields. Hung said that it is the responsibility of universities to equip students with the necessary knowledge.

Nevertheless, educators still believe in the big opportunities of graduates of Vietnamese studies. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Ha, from the Hanoi Pedagogical University, said that the students in this branch have knowledge in many fields, which allows them to have more choices in a wide range of fields.

(Source: Ha noi moi)