The Education Climate in Vietnam and Better Life Vietnam’s Mission - Nikol Nikolova

Vietnam’s education landscape has long displayed a bias in favor of urban areas. This means most educational facilities and opportunities are concentrated in urban regions. Consequently, underprivileged children and youth in rural areas remain unable to obtain access to adequate education, leaving them at a staggering disadvantage. 

According to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), young people from minority groups and/or living in rural areas, as well as those from poor households, obtain lower levels of educational attainment in comparison with others. Additionally, young women are among the groups most disadvantaged by this climate.

Similarly, the research project Young Lives: An International Study of Childhood Poverty reported data from a sample of 1,000 eight-year-old children across five Vietnamese provinces. The children from the sample took numerous basic literacy and numeracy tests, which researchers then analyzed. The researchers concluded that significant variation existed based on the location of the child. Rural children performed less well on all three of the tests - 95%, 85%, and 92% of urban children were able to successfully complete the reading, writing, and mathematics tests in contrast to 86%, 72% and 84% of rural children.

These overwhelming statistics call for immediate action. This is the primary gap in the education sphere that Better Life Vietnam is tackling. This non-profit organization was founded by Ms. Nguyen Minh Thinh of Hanoi and the Walter family of the town of Weiterstadt (near Frankfurt, Germany) in 2010. 

Better Life Vietnam’s approach is multifaceted and multidimensional, targeting a variety of challenges. Among these key issues are that rural children often lack access to educational resources, such as books and textbooks. To address this issue, Better Life Vietnam has established a collaboration with the Center for Knowledge Assistance and Community Development (CKACD). The aim of this collaboration is to provide access to more books. Founded by Mr. Nguyen Quang Thach, this center has already built more than 10,000 bookcases for nearly 500,000 children in rural areas. The two initiatives seek to provide access to books for 15 million rural youths and children in Vietnam. Apart from the shortage of books, Better Life Vietnam further addresses the issue of poverty and school expenses. That is why the organization launched their scholarship program which aims to cover school costs for rural families.

Better Life Vietnam’s mission is to improve education for underprivileged children and youth in Vietnam. The organization shares an incredible commitment to the vision of quality education for everyone. Currently, their network of individuals is actively growing in Europe and the United States. Those who are interested in getting involved can learn more here. Contribute by spreading the word and help to promote equal education for all.