Viet Nam and Switzerland should further co-operation on higher education to create more opportunities for students to study overseas, a conference in Ha Noi heard yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy said improving higher education standards was a key national goal. However, how best to boost standards to meet socio-economic development goals remained a challenge, she said.
"Deeper co-operation between top-ranking universities and colleges in Switzerland and Viet Nam, especially in the fields of banking, finance, insurance, tourism and hotels, would benefit Viet Nam's development," he said.
At the moment, 460 students are participating in five joint programmes between Swiss and Vietnamese universities.
Swiss Ambassador to Viet Nam Andrej Motyl said Vietnamese students were both diligent and thirsty for knowledge.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Minh, deputy director of the ministry's General Department for Viet Nam Education Development, said many Vietnamese students wanted to study in Switzerland but found tuition fees and accommodation expensive.
She said more Vietnamese students would study in Switzerland if tuition fees were reduced and accommodation grants made available.
Since 2010, 2,820 graduates have won places to study in Europe, North America and Asia through programmes funded by the Government.
There are at the moment 364 joint programmes between Viet Nam and 47 countries that have allowed 25,140 students to study abroad.
At the conference, partnership agreements were signed between Swiss and Vietnamese universities. — VNS