Education and Politics in Wartime: School Systems in North and South Vietnam, 1965–1975

Abstract

From the late 1950s until 1975, the war between North and South Vietnam had both domestic and international consequences. Unlike the Cold War divide between the United States and the Soviet Union, the war between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV, the Communist North) and the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, the non-Communist South) was an armed conflict between two polities that both identified themselves as Vietnamese. In this twenty-year-long struggle, the fates of the DRV and the RVN were tied to their success in producing new generations who would subscribe to their respective agendas. This was done through many venues, of which education was one of the most important. Relying on archival materials and published documents, this article compares the educational systems at the primary and secondary school levels in the DRV and RVN after the division of the country, with a special focus on the period 1965–1975.

The returns to education and wage penalty from overeducation: New evidence from Vietnam

“…The quality of education varies over time as the Vietnamese education system undergoes consistent reform. Before 1975, the education system in Vietnam differed between the North and the South, formed by social and political evolutions (Dror, 2018). Following the unification, the government established a uniform education system and implemented significant educational reforms in the South.…”

Women's career in Vietnamese academia: An analysis from multiple lenses

“…This was evident in the education sector which had the combination of state, semi-private and private schools. School curricula focused on personal freedom and the progress of society (Dror, 2018).…”

“…Education under a communist regime was an instrument of a social class; therefore, Vietnam's school programme focused on teaching the Soviet's Marxism-Leninism (Dror, 2018).…”