Participants to a forum discussing how to promote the role of intellectuals in Việt Nam on Tuesday expressed their concern over the practicality of certain Party and State policies. — Photo baodatviet.vn

HÀ NỘI — Participants to a forum discussing how to promote the role of intellectuals in Việt Nam on Tuesday expressed their concern over the practicality of certain Party and State policies.

To create a good environment for the development of intellectuals, the Party and State have promulgated encouraging policies; however, participants said these policies don’t work in practice.

One example mentioned was that the starting salary of someone with a bachelors degree working at a State research institute was about VNĐ3 million (US$130), salary of a University professor was VNĐ5 million ($220) while a maid earns roughly VNĐ3 million-4.5 million ($200). 

Nguyễn Ngọc Phú, Deputy Chairman of Viêt Nam Association of Science and Educational Psychology said to create a favourable environment for intellectuals, salary reform is needed so that intellectuals can survive and support their family.         

Prof. Nguyễn Lân Dũng, Chairman of Việt Nam  Biology Association said besides salary, the State needs encouraging policies for research institutes.

Vietnamese intellectuals living at home or abroad want to contribute their knowledge to the country, Dũng said, but need to be heard by local authorities.

Nguyễn Thúy Anh, from Tạp chí Cộng sản (Communist Review) said encouraging policies for overseas Vietnamese intellectuals should be side-by-side with recruiting policies to employ qualified personnel.

She said she had heard of a young intellectual who returned to Việt Nam from Germany to work but subsequently went back to Germany because of the unprofessional working environment here.

Anh said besides higher salaries, an equal, transparent and professional working environment is needed.

Lê Công Lương, chief of the office of Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations, said there was an increasing number of people with a college-level education in the country.

The Union’s latest report showed there were 6.5 million people having degrees in 2013, an increase of five times from 2000. Of which, in 2013 the amount of intellectuals with Masters level degrees was 118,650 and 24,660 had doctorate level degrees, against 10,000 and 12,690 respectively in 2000.

Organised by the Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations, the forum was expected to propose policies to the Party and State on intellectuals. — VNS