Southeast Asian students flock to Vietnam to study college and secondary school.

cao đẳng - Ảnh 1. — A group of Myanmar students at Saigon Polytechnic College - Photo: TRONG NHAN

Moe Moe Thazin is one of many students from Myanmar currently studying Japanese at Saigon Polytechnic College (HCMC). Before coming to Vietnam, she had achieved N4 level of Japanese, wishing to study at a higher level and especially "have a way" to work in Japan.

Cost of living, stable environment

Moe Moe's study path includes one year in Vietnam, an internship in Japan for 6 to 10 months, then returning to Vietnam for 3 to 4 months to complete the program and receive a degree. Finally, students will be connected to return to Japan to work after graduation.

Moe Moe came to Vietnam in October 2024. She said she was hesitant between studying in Thailand or Vietnam, but in the end chose Vietnam because the cost of living and studying is more reasonable and the environment is stable. After a year of studying, Moe Moe has completed the requirements in the country and has just successfully interviewed with a recruitment unit in Japan in the field of childcare.

According to Moe Moe, studying in Vietnam gives you more opportunities to practice Japanese and gradually adapt to the international learning and living environment.

"Compared to Myanmar, life in Vietnam is more stable, convenient for studying and preparing before going to Japan," he said, hoping to be able to go to Japan for an internship before Tet.

Htet Htet Wai, also from Myanmar, has been in Vietnam for about three months and is currently studying Japanese. Unlike many of his classmates who plan to work in the healthcare sector in Japan, Htet Htet Wai aims to work in the restaurant and hotel industry.

To be recruited into hotels in Japan, you need to have a minimum Japanese language proficiency level of N3, but Htet Htet Wai said he set a higher goal and will try to reach N2 before going to Japan to have more opportunities.

According to Htet Htet Wai, the current situation in Myanmar is not really stable, and opportunities for young people are limited. Therefore, coming to Vietnam to study and practice Japanese is a necessary intermediate step.

"Here I can study, practice my language and prepare documents to go to Japan to work. Vietnam helps me expand my options, not only Japan but later if I want, I can also stay in Vietnam to work," he said.

Many opportunities for expansion

Dr. Hoang Van Phuc - Principal of Saigon Polytechnic College - said that internationalization is one of the development orientations that the school has focused on in recent years. Currently, the school has about 500 international students studying, coming from countries such as Myanmar, Cuba, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The majors chosen by many students include Japanese, Korean, information technology and tourism .

According to Mr. Phuc, in addition to training, the school also cooperates with consulates general and some professional unions of other countries to support job connections for students after graduation. This approach helps students have more career options, not only stopping at studying but also having the opportunity to work in accordance with their major.

Dr. Hoang Quoc Long - Principal of Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary School - said that in recent times, the school has begun its first international cooperation activities. Recently, the school welcomed two groups of students and lecturers from Chenla University, Phnom Penh (Cambodia) for short-term study, each group of about 50 people.

Cambodian students mainly study nursing. They want to learn short-term skills in beauty care such as shampooing, spa, massage... due to the actual needs of hospitals and medical centers in Cambodia today.

According to him, the school is expected to receive another class of students from Laos to study beauty care in early 2026. This cooperation comes from the connections the school has made in the ASEAN Skills Competitions. "For Lao students, we plan to offer many scholarships to encourage them to study because this is also a direction to strengthen cooperation between the two countries," he said.

Mr. Long added that because this is still a relatively new activity, some procedures are still difficult. For convenience, the courses are currently designed to be short-term, under 30 days, to reduce visa requirements for international students.

However, in the long term, he hopes that this model can expand into a channel to attract international students to Vietnam to study vocational training, because many schools in the region highly appreciate the skills and expertise that Vietnamese vocational training institutions are building.

Very serious learning spirit

Mr. Tran Lam Tuan Kiet - lecturer of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Saigon Polytechnic College - commented that international students, especially those from Myanmar, often have a very serious learning spirit and high self-discipline.

"You have clearly defined your goal of working abroad, so during your time studying in Vietnam, almost everyone tries to make the most of it to improve their knowledge and skills," he shared.

According to him, the noticeable points in this group of students are discipline and a positive attitude towards learning. "They are very polite and modest. Outside of class, many of them also take the opportunity to travel and explore Vietnamese culture as a way to understand more about the country they are studying in," he said.

Positive signal

Dr. Tran Manh Thanh - Principal of Bach Viet Polytechnic College - said that last year the school had about 30 Myanmar students studying Japanese translation - economics and trade.

According to him, this is a positive sign because up to now, foreign students coming to Vietnam to study have been quite few, mainly in fields related to Vietnamese language. Now there are international students coming to study at colleges, especially in foreign languages and commerce, showing that Vietnam is gradually becoming a more widely recognized training destination.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sinh-vien-dong-nam-a-do-sang-viet-nam-hoc-cao-dang-trung-cap-20251024083400507.htm