Good students do not apply for university, fear joblessness

Phan Thi Hoa, a 12th grader at Tran Phu High School in Quang Binh province, decided to work after attending the finals, despite her achievements at high school.

When asked about her decision, Hoa said she doesn’t think she can find a job after finishing university because she doesn’t have money. 

The student said she won’t regret her decision. “It will be a big waste of my parents’ money and my time if I spend several years on university education and cannot find a job,” she said. Hoa, like other students, once dreamed of going to university after finishing high school. However, she gave up the dream after seeing her two sisters jobless. .

“I will go working to earn my living after attending the high school finals. I think I would go abroad to do business later, when I have opportunities,” she said.

Le Huyen Trang, a student in Quang Binh province, also decided not to go to university after she finished high school last year, though she was a good student and class monitor. 

“I don’t want to continue going to school. I see a lot of university graduates with no jobs. I don’t want to follow their way,” she said.

Trang has been working at a barber shop in the last year, hoping that she will gain experience to open a hair salon in the future.

Not only students, but parents also are worried about job opportunities of university graduates.

Nguyen Thi Phuong, whose son is a student of the Vo Nguyen Giap High School for the Gifted, said she was worried for the son’s future, even if he passes the university entrance exam.

“I want him to pass the university entrance exam. This would be a good reward for the great efforts he made in the last years at high school. But if he passes the exam, I am afraid if he can find job after finishing university,” she said.

A high school in Hanoi commented that many parents tend to become extremists. In the past, they tried to force their children to go to university at any cost. But nowadays, they tend to keep away from university after hearing about the high unemployment rate among university graduates.

In many localities, 70% of high school students do not intend to go to university after attending the high school finals. 

In Hoa Binh province, for example, 5,600 out of 8,100 students won’t follow higher education. In Ha Giang province, only 1,800 out of 6,700 students plan to apply for university.