Vietnam to Allocate WB-funded $150M for University Education Development

Vietnam’s government has recently decided to allocate VND3.1 trillion ($150 million) funded via the International Development Association under the World Bank for university education development in the 2015-2016 period. The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) will cooperate to allocate funds for projects, especially for on-going ones that need capital. The MoET and the MoF will have to report back to the government on using plan for 2015 and only disburse when the programs qualify for regulations in Investment Law and related laws. Projects must be approved by competent authorities before August 31 this year to be qualified. According to the World Bank, Vietnam was spending a significant share of its public resources on higher education but was not meeting the huge demand. There was a recognized need in reforming public financing to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of the government’s budget, as well as improving transparency and accountability in public financial management in the education sub sector. The program provided by the IDA includes three Development Policy Credits to support a comprehensive university education reform effort, putting in place important policies to strengthen governance, rationalize financing, and improve the quality of teaching and research. The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors recently approved a credit line of $77 million for a project to reform the general education system in Vietnam, aiming to improve student learning outcomes through revising the curriculum and instruction. The World Bank and the State Bank of Vietnam have signed 159 programs/projects worth more than $19 billion to support the Southeast Asian country’s socioeconomic development and poverty reduction over the past 22 years. (Hanoi Moi – New Hanoi July 14 p2)