Hanoi (VNS/VNA) 🅺— Vietnam is currently hosting nearly 22,000 international students, the highest number in the past nine years.

The number of foreign students studying in Vietnam has been steadily increasing. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam welcomed 18,500 international students in the 2020-21 academic year. This number slightly decreased to 16,000 in 2021-22 but rose again to 20,000 in the 2022-23 academic year. International students often choose institutions that specialise in language, culture, and theory, such as the Hanoi University, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University - Hanoi, and the Academy of Journalism and Communication. Recently, some technical and economic universities, including the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the Foreign Trade University and the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi under the Vietnam - France University, have also begun accepting international students. However, the ministry also added that most international students in Vietnam were enrolled in undergraduate and short-term courses, with relatively few pursuing Master's or Doctoral degrees. The majority of the students are from Laos, Cambodia, with some from China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, focusing on Vietnamese studies. That field, along with Vietnamese language and literature and studies on ethnic minorities in Vietnam, were favoured as subjects by the international students. The ministry pointed out that some mechanisms and policies had yet to fully facilitate the attraction of international students to Vietnam, such as issues related to health insurance and visas. Additionally, there was currently no mechanism to facilitate the recruitment of highly qualified professionals for teaching and research roles at Vietnamese higher education institutions. The ministry stated that student exchanges with foreign countries have complied with current regulations. These exchanges have fostered cultural interactions, facilitated academic collaborations, and strengthened international solidarity and integration. However, educational institutions are still required to adhere to the same procedures and processes applicable to all foreign workers. For the 2023-24 academic year, nearly 3,000 foreign experts and Vietnamese professionals from abroad have been involved in teaching, scientific research and academic exchanges in Vietnam. The foreign experts mainly work in foreign language teaching, programme development support, international project implementation and collaborative training programmes between domestic and international universities. The ministry said one of the key tasks for the education sector in the upcoming 2024-25 academic year was to further enhance international integration in education. The tasks include attracting and using foreign resources for education and training, developing policies to attract foreign experts and scientists for collaboration in research and training and promoting the recruitment of more international students to study in Vietnam./.