This paper studies trends in education in Viet Nam in the 2000s. It focuses
on access to education, inequality in the education system and education
financing and provides an assessment of the effectiveness of educational
activities supported by public spending. The first part of the study
presents an overview of the education system in Viet Nam and the reform
process of the public provision of education services. The next section
focuses on access and inequality in education in Viet Nam, analysing
disparities among different population groups and between urban and
rural population groups, women and men, ethnic minorities and the ethnic
majority and poor and non-poor households. The following section covers
the issue of education financing in Viet Nam. The study assesses the trend
in family contributions to children’s education over time and whether
education is a burden on the poor. A model to assess the determinant to
lower-secondary, upper-secondary and tertiary enrolments was applied in
order to find the factors influencing enrolments. Finally, in the conclusion,
we summarize our findings and propose some policy implications for
further reforming the country’s education system with a view to enhancing
accessibility and making it more equitable.