- Vietnam approves long-term education project for ethnic minorities, targeting high-quality human resource development from 2026-2035 with a vision to 2045.
- 2,000-2,500 ethnic minority students to enrol annually, focusing on priority sectors such as health, IT, agriculture, tourism, and teacher education.
- Digital transformation and targeted support prioritised, using AI-driven training systems, multilingual learning resources, and stronger links between education and labour markets.
Vietnam has approved a long-term national project aimed at expanding equitable access to high-quality education for ethnic minority communities, with a strong focus on building a skilled core workforce to support socio-economic development and national security in disadvantaged regions.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long has signed Decision No. 2776/QD-TTg, approving the project on training high-quality human resources from ethnic minority communities for the 2026-2035 period, with a vision extending to 2045. The initiative reflects the Government’s commitment to ensuring that ethnic minority people are better represented in key sectors with high demand for skilled labour, particularly in mountainous, border and island areas.
Under the project, annual enrolment at college and university levels is expected to reach between 2,000 and 2,500 new students during the 2026–2035 period. Of these, around 1,000 to 1,500 students will be selected based on strong potential to become part of a core workforce serving ethnic minority and mountainous regions. The programme applies to ethnic minority pupils, students and trainees living in disadvantaged areas or from poor households who pursue studies in priority fields. It will be implemented across university preparatory schools, vocational education institutions, higher education institutions, academies, research institutes and relevant agencies.
The enrolment structure will prioritise sectors critical to regional development. Students in health-related fields are expected to account for 7-10% of total enrolment, while agriculture and forestry, as well as tourism, will each represent 5-10%. The remaining students will be trained in other sectors aligned with labour market needs. In addition, the number of ethnic minority students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programmes is projected to increase by at least 10% each year, alongside similar annual growth in university preparatory programmes.
During the 2026-2030 phase, training will focus on health care, information technology, agriculture, finance and banking, teacher education, tourism and social work. In the following 2030-2035 period, additional sectors will be introduced in line with evolving socio-economic conditions in ethnic minority areas.
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The project places strong emphasis on improving the quality and capacity of the education and training system, particularly ethnic minority boarding and semi-boarding schools and university preparatory institutions. Targeted investment will also be directed towards selected higher education institutions to strengthen facilities, curricula and teaching staff.
Digital transformation is a key pillar of the initiative. Authorities plan to develop a unified digital training management platform and apply artificial intelligence and big data to enrolment processes, learner management and workforce demand forecasting. A multilingual digital learning resource system, including Vietnamese and several widely spoken ethnic minority languages, will also be established.
Funding will come primarily from the state budget, complemented by public-private partnerships and contributions from enterprises and private training institutions. The project also seeks to strengthen links between training and the labour market through closer cooperation with businesses, employment service centres and local authorities to support career guidance and job placement.
In addition, tailored support policies will be refined for ethnic minority learners, including tuition fee exemptions or reductions, assistance with living and accommodation costs, and enhanced foreign language and IT training. International cooperation and exchange programmes will also be promoted to create opportunities for outstanding students and support long-term human resource development.
