The drop-out rate is a very important indicator of the success of the universalization of primary education, and therefore drop-out rate trends need to be monitored to ensure that appropriate policies are implemented so that 6 to 14 year olds complete primary education.

Table 6.2.10.a1 shows us the drop-out rates in the whole country in the period from 1993 to 1998.

Table 6.2.10.a1: Drop-out rates by grade in primary education 1993-1998

To get an indication of how drop-out rates have changed, the table below outlines the drop-out rates in the 1989 to 1990 school year.

As was done with indicator 12, a comparison can be made in the drop-out rates for the northern and southern regions of Vietnam. Tables 6.2.10.a.3 and 6.2.10.a.4 provides us with some data for analysis and comparison.

After comparing the data in Table 6.2.10.a.3 and 6.2.10.a.4, it is clear that the southern regions are lagging behind the north with regards to the drop-out rate. The drop-out rates in the Southern provinces are two times higher than those in the Northern provinces. The highest dropout rates are in grade 1 and in grade 5; very crucial grades in a child’s primary education. Factors which contribute to the high drop-out rates in the south may include economic, geographical and social factors.

In the 1990’s the universalization of primary education (UPE) program has achieved good results. The drop out rates in primary education were reduced from emergency level, (12% in the school year, 1990-1991) to under 6% in the school year 1997-1998. Economic reasons may have effected the drop-out rate rather than pedagogic reasons, but it is everybody’s duty to maintain this good trend.

To identify the internal efficiency of an education system, it is important to know the survival rate to grade 5 in primary education.

Table 6.2.11: Survival rate (%) to grade 5 primary education 1996 –1998

The data of Table 6.2.11 shows that the survival rate to grade 5 in the Red River delta is higher than in other regions. The Red River delta’s economic strength, the emphasis its culture places on learning, together with its convenient geographical conditions has ensured that every child entering grade 1 of primary education learns continuously until grade 5. Other regions, especially provinces in the North West and Mekong river delta whose survival rate is not so strong, should strive to increase the survival rate to grade 5

Indicator 13 assesses the rate at which students remain in primary school until the fifth grade and the assessment of this indicator reflects on the success of the UPE program. It is clear from Table 6.2.11 that educational authorities in the North West and Mekong river delta regions have to encourage children to stay in the primary education system or organize some learning models to suit them.

To further analyze the internal efficiency of the primary education system, it is useful to look at developments in the completion ratios over the past 6 years.

The data in Table 6.2.12 clearly shows that the completion ratio of grade 5 after five years of study in primary education has increased, thus learning efficiency has increased. In the 1989-1990 and 1990-1991 school years this indicator was nearly 50%. The increase in the completion ratio comes as a result of the reduction in the drop out and repetition rate and also because of the achievements of the UPE program.

With the exception of the dramatic increase in completion ratio in Hanoi (a phenomenon which deserves close analysis), the development of the completion ratio in a number of provinces has been reasonable. However, completion ratios in some mountainous provinces such as Lao Cai, and Mekong river delta provinces such as Vinh Long, and Soc Trang still need to improve. More disturbing was the reduction in the completion ratios in Gia Lai and Ho Chi Minh city between 1996 and 1998

The increasing percentage of students completing primary school has been achieved as a result of the national efforts by the Government to increase the internal efficiency of primary education. To ensure the development of a labour force with a high educational level, the number of drop-outs must be cut, and the problem of the repetition rate must be addressed.

With 75.50% of pupils having completed primary education in the 1998-1999 school year, it is possible that Vietnam will achieve the objective of a completion rate of 70-80% by the year 2000 as specified in the National Plan of Action on Education for All.

Table 6.2.13: Percentage of pupils moving from grade 4 to grade 5

Based on the data, over the past 5 years there has been stable development in the percentage of students moving to Grade 5, reflecting the provinces’ adoption of the principles of universal primary education.

As can be seen from Table 6.2.13, the percentage of pupils moving from grade 4 to grade 5 is slightly higher in the southern regions than in the Northern provinces, though the gap between the north and south is in decline.

In striving for universal primary education, attention has been paid to two main issues: firstly mobilizing 6-14 year old children to start school at the appropriate age, and secondly reducing the repetition rate and number of drop outs. Indicator 15 data reveals that in the 1980’s, Vietnam concentrated efforts on increasing the quality of primary education, and implementing universal primary education. In adherence to the policy of UPE, attention has been paid to increasing the number of pupils moving from grade 4 to grade 5.

Note: Based on the national objective for literacy education which targets the 15-35 age group, this indicator has been replaced by indicator 16A.

To identify the literacy rate in the 15-35 age group, it is necessary to use data from the national population survey. Table 6.2.14 shows the results from literacy activities for people in the 15-35 age group for 1990-1998.

A close analysis of the data in Table 6.2.14. reveals that:

(i) The number of illiterates in the 15-35 age group was reduced by half between 1990 and 1998.

(ii) The percentage of illiterate 15 to 35 year olds who achieved literacy was 50.58%.

The data in column (7) shows that literacy rates have increased remarkably from 86.1% in 1990 to 95.6% in 1998. In particular, the disparity in illiteracy rates for men and women became less apparent, with the ratio decreasing from 1.213% in 1990 to 1.044% in 1998. Therefore, there is more gender equity in illiteracy rates.

An analysis of the regional literacy rates of the 15-35 age group in the years between 1990 and 1998 shows that all regions have achieved higher literacy rates, although there is still regional differences in the level of literacy achieved.

As can be seen from the table below, the population of 15-35 year olds in the Red River delta has achieved the highest literacy rates in the country: 99% in 1998. The more remote areas of the north-west and Tay Nguyen Highlands have made remarkable progress in raising the literacy rate from 50.06% and 63.20% in 1990 to 83.55% and 87.76% in 1998.