The call came from deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan during face to face talks with delegates at the eighth national conference of the Vietnam Students’ Association (VSA) held in Hanoi on February 15.

The deputy PM talked to the students on issues of particular concern to them such as finding a jobs after graduating university, the increase in access to credit for students, more opportunities to study for professional qualifications, experiences of recruitment and establishment of the fund to help students conduct scientific researches.

Mr Nhan said that second and third-year students need to exert themselves on seeking employment. Over the past two years, the Government has gradually transferred the Training on Ability programme to the Training on Demand programme. The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has also compiled training programmes and cooperated with enterprises to organize 11 seminars and training programmes to help students find employment after graduation. According to a survey conducted in 2005, almost all students found jobs after graduation, said Mr Nhan.

Deputy director of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), Nguyen Van Ly said that recently, many people has asked for a raise in the current credit level of VND800,000 for students. However, many ministries and agencies agreed that the credit level is acceptable. Mr Nhan added that more than 1.2 million students have taken out loans from the credit programme since it was launched in 2007.

In the future, the MoET will hold further meetings to discuss proper mechanism, that can create better conditions for students to access funding for scientific research, he said.