NGO PROVIDED SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GENERAL EDUCATION IN VIETNAM : A CASE STUDY IN THE DISTRICT OF SÓC SON

Abstract: Vietnam's entry to market economy as a result of its "doi moi" programme of reform, shifted the responsibility of education financing to households. Although primary education in Vietnam should be free of charge, direct and indirect costs of education cause a great burden on household economy. This study elaborates on the extent to which access to education depends on the income of the household in the context of NGO school scholarships. As a result of this case study, I propose that even though the scholarship enhances the financial capacity of an household to put their children into school and weakens the impact of schooling costs in decising child's educational attainment, the educational scholarship is merely an incentive for the families to keep their children at school, not a decisive factor. This assumption goes in line with Theis and Huyen (1997) argument that the attitude of parents towards education is more important than their economic situation. My claim is based on the fact that most of the interviewed households were willing to borrow money from relatives to provide schooling to their children. In this context, the educational scholarship is targeted at enhancing and widening households's socio-economical choices in combination with the rice donation.