According to the Department of Higher Education , the scholarship system in Vietnam is currently fragmented and unsynchronized, funded by many training institutions, businesses and individual government projects. This causes resources to be scattered, lacks an overall strategy and has not yet formed a strong enough national scholarship brand to compete and attract talent at home and abroad.

Scholarship programs are also not comprehensive. Many talented students, young scientists but in difficult circumstances or studying basic sciences, arts, and specific cultures have not yet had access to appropriate support opportunities. The binding and rewarding mechanism after training is still weak, especially for scholarships to study abroad, causing the phenomenon of "brain drain" to continue to occur. The main dependence on the state budget also limits the scale of scholarships, the granting process is inflexible, and is still heavily administrative.

Faced with this situation, the Department of Higher Education believes that it is necessary to establish a single National Scholarship Fund, operating according to a modern, centralized and flexible model, to overcome the above limitations, becoming an important policy tool in the national talent development strategy.

Modern and transparent structure and operating mechanism

The Fund is proposed to be established in the form of a non-budgetary state financial fund, operating on a non-profit basis, established by the Prime Minister and with its charter approved.

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Students at university graduation ceremony. Photo: Hung Nguyen

The organizational structure includes: Fund Management Board (strategic orientation, operational supervision); Board of Directors (program management and implementation); Scientific Council (fair and professional review of applications); Supervisory Board (financial supervision, ensuring transparency and compliance with the law).

To ensure sustainable resources, the fund needs to diversify financial sources from the state budget, enterprises and socialization; at the same time, expand sponsorship cooperation, mobilize domestic and foreign resources. The fund will apply transparent review criteria, independent scientific council, apply digital technology in management, track records, and establish a post-training service commitment mechanism, connect the network of scholarship recipients with ministries, branches and enterprises so that talents are effectively utilized.

5 key scholarship groups

The Department of Higher Education proposes five main groups of scholarships to be granted by the Fund:

Full or partial scholarships for talented students in all fields, based on excellent academic performance, special talents or outstanding exam results. The scholarship amount is enough to cover tuition and living expenses, helping students to focus on research and study.

Scholarships for students in mountainous areas, remote areas, ethnic minorities and social policy beneficiaries, ensuring fairness in access to education and demonstrating the humanitarian spirit of "leaving no one behind".

Scholarships for excellent students at key universities, priority fields such as basic sciences, core technology, high engineering, medicine, pedagogy... support all study and living expenses.

Government-ordered scholarships, serving the training of high-quality human resources for strategic fields, emerging technology, security - defense and socio-economic development.

Scholarships for overseas study and postgraduate research, inheriting and upgrading existing projects, sending students to participate in master's, doctoral and post-doctoral programs at the world's leading universities in fields where Vietnam urgently needs human resources.

Scholarships will turn “brain drain” into “brain gain”

According to the Department of Higher Education, the establishment and effective operation of the National Scholarship Fund will create a strong boost for the movement of learning, research and talent development, contributing to attracting excellent students to key fields, arousing the spirit of dedication and innovation.

National scholarships are not only an honor and recognition of the Fatherland, but also a motivation for learners to strive, thereby promoting universities to improve training quality, improve programs and create a healthy competitive environment in the entire education system.

The Fund will also contribute to training a team of elite experts, scientists, and managers, trained domestically and internationally, creating a global network of Vietnamese talents. With a “red carpet” policy and post-training binding mechanism, the Fund aims to turn “brain drain” into “brain attraction”, contributing to making Vietnam a dynamic knowledge center of the region.

The Department of Higher Education recommends that the National Assembly and the Government soon issue a resolution or decree to establish a National Scholarship Fund with a specific mechanism on organization, finance and operation; the state budget should allocate initial capital. Relevant ministries and sectors need to coordinate in building financial, tax, investment mechanisms and policies on the use of human resources after training to ensure feasibility and long-term effectiveness.

The business community and the whole society are also encouraged to join, contribute resources and intelligence so that the Fund can become a symbol of development aspirations and the spirit of valuing Vietnamese talents.

“Investing in people is investing in the future. With political determination and social consensus, the National Scholarship Fund will become a launching pad for Vietnamese talents to fly high and far, contributing to building a strong and prosperous country,” the Department of Higher Education emphasized.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-gd-dt-de-xuat-thanh-lap-quy-hoc-bong-quoc-gia-duy-nhat-cap-cho-5-doi-tuong-2456665.html