The Impact of the Renovation Policies on the Livelihoods of ... - RCSD

(Thai Nguyen province), 12.4% in Ban Cam and 68.8% in Khau Qua (Bac Kan province), and18.2% in Pac Han and 21.7% in Khuoi Ken (Cao Bang province). Although Vau and Nac in ThaiNguyen province are located closer to Hanoi, <strong>the</strong> illiteracy rate was more than two times higherthan that <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> two case study villages in Cao Bang province. This is because school fees in CaoBang province are still being subsidised by <strong>the</strong> central government, while <strong>the</strong> subsidy scheme nolonger applies to Thai Nguyen province. <strong>The</strong> high poverty rate in Vau and Nac also means feweropportunities for children to go to school.80%68.8604020060.254.542.532.526.928.82521.716.918.212.410.6 11.79.38.35.2 4.56.12.1 11.31.5 1.7Vau Nac Ban Cam Khau Qua Pac Han Khuoi KenThai Nguyen Bac Kan Cao Bang13-30 yrs30-60 yrs>60 yrsTotalFigure 7: Illiteracy rate following a transect from Hanoi centre to Chinese borderKhau Qua villagers belong to <strong>the</strong> H’Mong ethnic minority. <strong>The</strong> illiteracy rate among those <strong>of</strong>working age (13-60 years old) is very high at 63.5% (Figure 7). None <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> female labour forcecan speak Vietnamese. <strong>The</strong>ir main work is looking after children and doing housework. Only afew men in Khau Qua can speak fluent Vietnamese. Khau Qua villagers use <strong>the</strong> Tay language forcommunication with people in o<strong>the</strong>r villages, including meetings with commune authorities.In most case study villages, <strong>the</strong> illiteracy rate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 13-30 years age group is very high suggestingthat <strong>the</strong> renovation process has not improved <strong>the</strong> formal education <strong>of</strong> upland people. Althougheducation is a priority <strong>of</strong> all households, economic factors force many children to leave schoolafter <strong>the</strong>y finish primary or secondary schools 6 . Very few children can study at high school 7 orvocational school.School fees are a heavy financial burden on poor families, forcing many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m to borrowmoney at <strong>the</strong> start <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> school year. Most households cannot support <strong>the</strong>ir children to continueat secondary or high schools. To study at secondary school <strong>the</strong>y have to walk at least 4-5 km eachway to school and pay higher school fees.In all case study villages, although more young children now can speak Vietnamese, Tay is still<strong>the</strong> most common language among <strong>the</strong> different ethnic groups. <strong>The</strong> limited knowledge <strong>of</strong>Vietnam’s <strong>of</strong>ficial language is a disadvantage for local people. For example, illiterate people didnot appear to understand <strong>the</strong> renovation policies well so <strong>the</strong>y could not access governmentservices such as <strong>the</strong> extension system and advice on rights <strong>of</strong> land tenure. In addition, localauthorities and government staff cannot speak minority ethnic languages.6 Secondary school is year 5 to year 97 High school is year 10 to year 12Paper for International Conference “Critical Transitions in <strong>the</strong> Mekong Region”29-31 January, 2007, Chiang Mai17