Taking advantage of economic crisis to study overseas

Published: 27/05/2009 05:00

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For many families, the present proves to be a good time to send their children abroad to study. Experts say if students “take full advantage of the crisis”, they can save as much as 100 million dong a year.

Vietnamese students in the UK (Photo: 123duhoc.com)

The VND has decreased significantly in value against the New Zealand dollar and the pound, which has benefited overseas students. In previous years, students paid 500 million VND a year on average for studying in the UK, while now the average is 400 million dong.

“That explains that why many families are sending their children abroad to study now,” said Ha Viet Hang, Head of the Overseas Study Consultancy Division under ISC Centre.

Pham Ngoc Quang, an overseas student in Leicester in the UK, said that the current exchange rate allows Vietnamese students to save 50-100 million dong per annum. However, Quang said that there are fewer opportunities for students to get extra jobs while studying and jobs after graduation.

In April-September 2008, a pound was converted to 30,000 dong, while in October 2008-April 2009, a pound was converted to 25,000 dong only. Quang said that the average annual expenses for a postgraduate like him are 22,000 pounds, which means that he is able to save 110 million dong a year.

Similarly, in South Korea, the won has lost its value, sometimes by as much as 50 percent, against the dollar. This has made everything here cheaper for Vietnamese students. They now can purchase laptops for just 2/3 of the prices before the crisis.

Low prices make Vietnamese students happy

In many countries in the world like the US and European countries, prices of goods have not increased because of low inflation.

A Vietnamese student in New Zealand said: “The prices here are not skyrocketing like in Vietnam.” The prices of some products like milk and meat are even cheaper than in Vietnam. For example, beef is selling at 80,000-110,000 per kilogramme.

Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, a student in the Netherlands, also said that except for tuition and house leasing fees, which increase periodically, the prices of other things have been stable.

However, students in Australia complain that the prices of import products have been increasing.

Pham Vu Lam, one of the students, related that one Australian dollar is now equal to 11,000 dong (it was 14,000 dong two years ago). However, as the Australian dollar has also lost its value against the US dollar, the prices of import products have increased, while Vietnamese students often eat cooking imported from Vietnam. The price of rice, in particular, has doubled.

Lan Huong

Provide by Vietnam Travel

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