Vietnam’s Higher Education System in Transition: The Struggle to Achieve Potential

Pham Thi Ly, Martin Hayden

Chapter 9, Book: Asia: The Next Higher Education Superpower? (2015)

Ninth in the Global Education Research Reports series

Book’s link

Ninth in the Global Education Research Reports series, published by IIE and the AIFS Foundation, Asia: The Next Higher Education Superpower? critically examines the local and global trends driving higher education policies in Asia and their impact on the local and regional knowledge economies. Featuring an impressive group of leading scholars, practitioners, and education policy experts these chapters look at how governments, universities, the private sector, and international organizations are responding to recent trends and meeting the diverse challenges and opportunities across the region. This volume is edited by Rajika Bhandari, IIE’s Deputy Vice President for Research and Evaluation, and Alessia Lefébure, Director of the Alliance at Columbia University and Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

“The center of gravity in higher education is perceptibly shifting to Asia where more than half of the world’s population is found. This thought-provoking book raises new questions about interconnectedness and interdependence in higher education with the Asian factor fully in focus.”
— Anne Pakir, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore

“The rise of Asia has been a big theme of the global university rankings in recent years, with data showing some outstanding progress by a number of key universities backed by exceptionally generous funding and strong political will. But questions still remain about the true potential of Asia’s universities and whether they can truly break the Western hegemony—so this book comes at a very important time.”
— Phil Baty, Editor, Times Higher Education World University Rankings

“With Asia’s rising influence in the global economy this is a timely collection on Asian higher education and its future promise. Given the rich traditions of Taxila and Nalanda in ancient India, Yuelu and other shuyuan, as well as China’s fabled civil service examination system, it is not surprising to find the distinguished contributors to this volume opening up a wealth of interesting possibilities!”
— Ruth Hayhoe, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

“This is an outstanding collection of papers. They not only describe recent developments in Asian systems of higher education but also analyze the challenges that these pose for higher education everywhere. The rise of Asian universities, the papers show, is reconstituting the architecture of the global higher education, with far-reaching social, political, and economic consequences.”
— Fazal Rizvi, Professor, University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Table of Contents

Forewords
Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education
William L. Gertz, President and CEO, American Institute For Foreign Study

Introduction
Higher Education in Asia and the Search for a New Modernity
Rajika Bhandari, Institute of Interntional Education, United States
Alessia Lefébure, Columbia University, United States

Chapter 1: Is Asia the Next Higher Education Superpower?
Kishore Mahbubani, National University of Singapore
Tan Eng Chye, National University of Singapore

Chapter 2: Global University Rankings: Determining the Distance Between Asia and ‘Superpower Status’ in Higher Education
Miguel Lim, Aarhus University, Denmark

Chapter 3: The Knowledge Economy and the Transformational Dynamics of Education in Asia’s Emergent Economic Growth
Chaya R. Jain,Virginia State University, United States

Chapter 4: Systemic Challenges to Educational Quality and Global Competitiveness
Simon Marginson, University of London, United Kingdom

Chapter 5: Internationalization in Asian Higher Education in the Era of Globalization
Futao Huang, Hiroshima University, Japan

Chapter 6: Education Hubs in Asia: A Common Facade for Uncommon Futures
Jack T. Lee, University of Toronto, Canada

Chapter 7: Higher Education in India: Overcoming Mediocrity
Philip G. Altbach, Boston College, United States

Chapter 8: Locating Malaysia’s Place Within the ASEAN Higher Education Landscape: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Prospects
Mohd. Ismail Abd Aziz, Ministry of Education, Malaysia, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Doria Abdullah, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Chapter 9: Vietnam’s Higher Education System in Transition: The Struggle to Achieve Potential
Pham Thi Ly, Vietnam National University
Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Vietnam
Martin Hayden, Southern Cross University, Australia

Chapter 10: Global Influences on the Internationalization of Higher Education in Japan: The Role of the Bologna Process and Other European Initiatives
Takao Kamibeppu, Tokyo Jogakkan College, Japan

Chapter 11: Role of Development Partners in Supporting Higher Education in Asia
Jouko Sarvi, Asian Development Bank, Philippines