Higher Education in South Vietnam in 1956-1975

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Quyet Luu Van, et. al.

Abstract

In 1954, after the signing of the Geneva Accords, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two regions with two different political regimes. While
North Vietnam was liberated, in the South, the US replaced France and established a separate country called the Republic of Vietnam (ROV) as
a tool for the neo-colonism policy and the global strategy of the US in this region. The US relentlessly provided for the ROV to consolidate its
military, political and economic strengths; and at the same time focused on investing in educational development - including higher education to
solve the problem of training human resources for the regime and for studying practical issues of social life in the South. Therefore, higher
education in South Vietnam was associated with and affected by the context of war in the South and became one of the important policies of the
US. A highlight of higher education in South Vietnam was the parallel existence of both French and American trends, which led to the gradual
shift towards values of American model. Each trend mentioned above itself has certain advantages and limitations. Researching the transition in
higher education of South Vietnam, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of education trends allows some practical experience to be drawn
for the reform of higher education in Vietnam today.

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