The challenge of corruption in higher education: the case of Vietnam

The purpose of this paper is to examine corruption in Vietnam's higher education system and offer a number of suggestions to address the issue.

The first section gives an introduction to the current higher education system in Vietnam and examines the factors that influence corruption in higher education. This is followed by a conceptual model of corruption of higher education and places Vietnam within this theoretical context. The final section suggests a number of policies to address the issue of corruption.

It is argued that if Vietnam is to obtain an international standard educational system, a sea change in both thinking and culture is necessary, particularly from “gatekeeper” entities which control resources and opportunities in higher education by virtue of their location in the higher education system. In particular, the author contends that focus must be placed on reforming the attitude and perception of faculty and administration toward corrupt practices and that, until this occurs, little progress will be made

Scholarly work on corruption in higher education is relatively limited and a newly‐emerging topic in the field of educational research. Data are difficult to obtain and with no clear consensus on a definition of corruption, much needs to be done to better understand this issue. Less attention has been paid to examples from the emerging economics of Southeast Asia, with only a few analyzing corruption in Vietnam.