Education in Vietnam

Compared with other Third World countries, Vietnam's population is very well educated. Vietnam's literacy rate is estimated at 82%, although official figures put it even higher (95%). Before the colonial period, the majority of the population possessed some degree of literacy, but by 1939 only 15% of school-age children were receiving any kind or instruction and 80% of the population was illiterate.

During the late 19th century, one of the few things that French colonial officials and Vietnamese nationalists agreed on was that the traditional Confucian educational system, on which the mandarinal civil service was based, was in desperate need of reform. Mandarinal examinations were held in Tonkin until WWI and in Annum until the war's end.

Many or Indochina's independence leaders were educated in elite French-language secondary schools such as the Lyce’e Albert Sarraut in Hanoi and the Lyce’e Chasseloup Laubat in Saigon.

Although the children of foreign residents can theoretically attend Vietnamese schools, the majority go to special private academies. These are expensive, but if you're working for a foreign company then it's possible that they will pay the bill.