State policies to encourage overseas Vietnamese students to return to the country after graduation and the status of Vietnamese students in Japan received a great deal of concern during an online meeting yesterday in Hanoi.

The meeting held by the Vietnam Students Association was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

"Are there any policies that offer consulting services to overseas Vietnamese students to help them adapt to the domestic working environment? Could you tell me of some specific consultants that could help overseas Vietnamese students find a suitable job that fits with their abilities and professional knowledge?" an overseas Vietnamese student asked.

In response, Nguyen Xuan Vang, director of MoET's International Education Development Department, said the department had implemented policies to encourage overseas students to return to work for government agencies or at the colleges where they worked or studied before studying abroad. Others would be encouraged to work at Government agencies according to their wishes. 

Vu Dang Minh, head of the Youth Affairs Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs, said: "The ministry has submitted to the Prime Minister a project to find, lure and cultivate talented people, including overseas Vietnamese students. We hope it will be effective if the Prime Minister approves it."

Some overseas Vietnamese students returned and contributed to the country after their overseas studies but the majority continued higher studies abroad or opted to work in foreign countries to gain experience. However, they gradually returned over time or somehow contributed their talents to the country.

Huynh Dao Hoang Nam, a Vietnamese student in Japan, asked how the Vietnam Students Association could help students in Japan after the recent tsunami and earthquake tragedy.

"We collected VND450 million (USD21,600) to support Vietnamese students in Japan after the tragedy and we will try to send the funds to students as well as Vietnamese people living in Japan as soon as possible," said Nguyen Dac Vinh, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and chairman of the Vietnam Students Association

Vietnamese students in Japan also expressed concern about how MoET would solve problems that could arise if students who were studying in Japan with Government scholarships were forced to return or suspend their studies in Japan because of the tragedy.

Nguyen Xuan Vang, of the International Education Development Department, said the department would pose the idea to ministry leaders in order to develop solutions that would meet the requirements of Vietnamese students in Japan and the Viet Nam Embassy in Japan.