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Winners of regional and international Olympiad prizes have not yet got state funding for overseas study are compelled to study at home.

According to current regulations, members of regional and international Olympiad teams are granted incentives to study abroad using state funding.

However, all of these students who have graduated from high school are having to manage on their own to decide their future.

Studying paradox

Despite winning silver medal in the International Mathematic Olympic 2012, Nguyen Hung Tam, a former student of Hanoi-Amsterdam High School, was compelled to study at the Hanoi-based Foreign Trade University. Now he is the first year student at the Faculty of Economics and International Business.

The chance for Tam to study at an advanced university abroad is relatively vague as the project 322, which provides state funded scholarships for Vietnamese outstanding students to study abroad, has stop enrolment since early 2012. The new project has no deadline for approval.

Being aware of the situation, Tam is trying to getting by himself to apply for scholarships at some universities in the US and Singapore.

“I have been specialising in mathematics for a long time, so I want to move on by studying logical industries like informatics and computing. I may study economics at home as the last resort. If I just study and work in Vietnam I’m afraid that I could neither realise my dream nor have a good livelihood,” Tam shared.

Managing on their own

Apart from Tam, many other students who have won regional and international Olympiad prize 2012 are struggling to finding the way for their future.

Nguyen Viet Hoang, who won silver medal in the International Chemistry Olympiad 2012, is both studying at Hanoi University of Pharmacy and improving his English to apply for overseas scholarships.

Hoang targets to have a chance to study chemistry and pharmacy at a prestigious US university in 2013.

Dau Hai Dang, a gold medal winner at the International Mathematics Olympiad 2012, has targeted to study abroad in 2014. Currently, he is studying at the Math Faculty of the University of National Science under the Vietnam National University – Hanoi.

He explained, “Now I have to focus on studying English as I was too busy with Olympic contests. If everything goes under my plan, I will apply for scholarship next year. I hope that I will have an opportunity to study abroad when I am a third year student.”

Both parents of Olympiad winners and teachers are worried about the current incentive policies for winners of international prizes.

Kim Ngoc Chinh, principle of Thanh Hoa Province’s Lam Son High School for Gifted Students, said, “The government’s incentive policies for students who win national and international prizes are nothing special than providing state-funded scholarships for studying abroad. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet made final decisions on the issue this year.”

The school has two students winning Olympic prizes. Le Huy Quang who won silver medal in the International Physics Olympiad is compelled to study at Foreign Trade University. Meanwhile, his younger brother Le Quang Lam, who won bronze medal in the International Mathematics Olympiad, is studying at University of Civil Engineering.

Halfway policies

Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan said, “The ministry will be responsible for finding scholarships for students but has not yet worked out the final solution. The ministry targets to reach such goal next school year.”

Several scientists and teachers who annually accompany Olympiad teams said that there are no doubts about the government’s policies for these students. The programme just temporarily halts.

However, some scientists assessed that such halt indicates the halfway policies on treating talented people.

Dau Hai Dang(left) won gold medal at the International Mathematics Olympiad 2012