Page 67 - EW August 2025

In 2024, nearly 40,000 Vietnamese students secured
study visas for the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, a rise
of almost 20 percent since 2019. More than 150,000 Viet-
namese students are currently studying abroad worldwide
and ApplyBoard projects further growth over the next five
years. This momentum is being driven by a combination
of Vietnam’s strong academic culture, expanding middle
class and deep-rooted global family connections, says the
consultancy.
The analysis finds the US remains the leading destina-
tion for Vietnamese students, welcoming 18,500 Vietnam-
ese study visa holders in the fiscal year 2024, a 27 percent
increase over the previous year. This places Vietnam sixth
overall for international student numbers in the US and
fourth by study visa volume.
Australia has also seen significant growth. In 2023-24,
Vietnam became the country’s third largest source of new Varsity students protesting Russian invasion
international students. More than 35,000 Vietnamese stu-
dents were enrolled across higher education and vocational Tetyana Kaganovska, rector of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv Na-
education and training (VET) institutions in 2024. tional University, takes a more positive stance, telling THE
In Canada, study permit approvals for Vietnamese stu- that “Ukraine has demonstrated significant progress in re-
dents rose 16 percent between 2022 and 2024, with an ad- forming higher education” in recent years. The Ukrainian
ditional 14 percent increase forecast for 2025 — although government “does consider higher education and research
nearly half of these were for primary and secondary educa- a priority,” she says. “Universities have gained greater aca-
tion. demic autonomy, the requirements for quality of educa-
Vietnamese student numbers in the UK have remained tional programmes have increased and the accreditation
stable over the past decade. Between 2,000 and 3,500 stu- system has improved,” says Kaganovska.
dent visas have been issued annually to Vietnamese stu- Describing attitudes towards the reform process as “var-
dents since 2008. The report projects that about 2,100 visas ied” across the academic community, Kaganovska says lack
will be issued in 2025, consistent with historical patterns. of resources to implement new initiatives was a particular
ApplyBoard notes that Vietnamese students are well source of frustration: “Many innovations require modern
positioned to study in English-speaking destinations, with infrastructure, digital platforms, staff retraining and inter-
strong English-language preparation in domestic schooling national cooperation. All of this demands funding.”
and a history of outbound mobility to nearby countries such Nadiya Ivanenko, honorary fellow in the University of
as South Korea, China and Japan. Oxford’s department of education, says the reform process
was inevitably interrupted by Russia’s full-scale invasion
UKRAINE of Ukraine in 2022. With many young people leaving the
Higher ed reforms war country to escape the war, “a lot of universities are losing a
huge amount of students, and they just can’t function as a
THE ONGOING PROCESS OF HIGHER EDUCA- university,” says Ivanenko.
TION reform in Ukraine has divided opinion in the Kaganovska describes the fall in international student
sector: while some highlight “significant progress” numbers, also fuelled by the Russian invasion, as one of
made in recent years, others have condemned develop- the “greatest losses for Ukrainian universities”. In an “ideal
ments including a tuition fee increase. world”, Kaganovska says, “I would like to see systemic, con-
In June, the government announced that the minimum sistent, and well-coordinated reforms”. Among them finan-
tuition fee would increase for almost a third of subject ar- cial reform including “increasing state investments in sci-
eas, with a particular focus on specialisations with which ence and higher education, incentivising grants acquisition,
the labour market is considered to be oversaturated, among public-private partnerships, and donor support”.
them law, management and economics. NUBiP’s Nikolaienko says Ukrainian universities’ “stra-
Stanislav Nikolaienko, president of the National Univer- tegic goals”, should also include “updating content of pro-
sity of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NUBiP) grammes, taking into account the war and state recon-
and minister of education and science from 2005 to 2007, struction, digitalisation and the introduction of artificial
says the fee increases have “shocked” the public and “sharply intelligence into the educational process”.
limit access for young people to these specialties”, adding: (Excerpted and adapted from The Economist and Times
“We are a warring country, and citizens’ incomes are low.” Higher Education)

AUGUST 2025 EDUCATIONWORLD 67