Statistics from the ministry show that about 9 per cent have qualified from university and 39.4 per cent passed vocational training courses from a total of 60.7 million workers in the fields of forestry and agriculture.

Currently, the country has more than 1.6 million students, but only 4.5 per cent of them studying in forestry, agriculture and aquaculture.

Nguyen Xuan Thao, rector of Tay Nguyen University, said that the university had never recruited enough students for veterinary, livestock or plant protection courses.

To meet the demand for highly-qualified manpower in these fields, MARD’s strategy on forestry development in 2006-20 calculates Viet Nam needs to train 5,000 students every year and retrain key field personnel.

In doing so, the ministry is waiting for government approval of its proposal to exempt tuition fees of VND2.1-2.4 million (US$110-126) per year for students in forestry and agriculture majors.

Scholarships will also be available for excellent students to support them with their daily living costs.

Professor Tran Duc Vien, rector of Ha Noi Agriculture University, said that it was necessary to change teaching and practical methods, textbooks and study programmes to attract more students because courses with content from 40 years ago were not enticing students.

Dang Kim Vui, rector of Thai Nguyen Forestry-Agriculture University, said that students in these universities after graduation were usually allocated to work in rural areas with low salaries and unfavourable conditions, so there should be special incentives to encourage them.

Source: VietNamNet/Viet Nam News