Vietnamese spend US$3 billion a year to study abroad: report
More than 110,000 students are studying in 47 countries around the world, spending an estimated US$3 billion a year, local media reported.
The figures were released by an education and training working group of the Vietnam Business Forum at its year-end session in Hanoi on December 1. Each student spends between US$30,000-40,000 on tuition and living expenses.
The group called on the government to ease restrictions for foreign investors in the sector to create more high-quality schools.
Currently, to open an education institution, investors have to apply for three different licenses and they have to repeat the similar applications when they want to open a new branch of their existing institutions, according to the report.
During their operation, investors are also obliged to repeatedly acquire assessments and certifications from different agencies, which costs a lot of money and time, the group said.
Foreign investors pledged a total of US$30 million for education and training projects in Vietnam in the January-November period, down 53.5% year on year, according to figures released by the Foreign Investment Agency.