Education in Vietnam: Trends and Differentials

The 1994 Intercensal Demographic Survey provides a unique opportunity to examine trends and current social and economic differentials in education in Vietnam. The evidence reveals substantial improvement in the levels of educational attainment throughout the course of the last seven decades. In addition, gender differences in education favoring boys over girls have disappeared. There has also been a successive widening and then closing of the gap between the North and South in education at the primary and secondary levels. Socio-economic factors, as reflected in rural-urban residence, household wealth level, and educational level of parents, continue to remain important influences of a child's schooling. Contrary to fears that the economic reforms and associated changes on the state subsidization of educational costs might impede the trend toward increased schooling, the evidence suggests continued progress during the 1989-1994 period.