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All universities in Vietnam must publish their financial accounts and information about educational standards on their websites by 15 April, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training told a conference in Hanoi this month.

The nation will make the battle against corruption part of the high school curriculum in the 2013-14 academic year, starting in September, after it was piloted for three years in accordance with a government decision issued in late 2009.

The Vietnamese government has continued a crackdown on unauthorized foreign-linked institutions operating in the country by blacklisting another seven colleges. The move follows the closure and fining of a number of foreign-affiliated institutions in the past six months.

A member of the Association of Việt Nam’s Universities and Colleges, spoke about the fight against corruption in higher education. The professor questioned how Government officials’ can afford to send their children to study abroad, suggesting greater transparency is needed regarding their assets. He also condemns the practice of giving scholarships to children of high high-ranking Government officials who have not excelled academically, citing it as a sign of corruption.

Most Vietnamese parents and students work with education agents when applying to the US and other foreign colleges and universities. The challenge for families is that these education agents charge exorbitant fees and misrepresent partner schools. They convince their clients of the need to ‘enhance’ an application using fraudulent documents, such as altered or fake transcripts and adviser-written statements of purpose.

There is a massive fraud going on in Vietnam with education agents charging $5,000-10,000 upfront from the families for scholarships to US institutions. Larger agencies are more specialized in helping students gain admission to “highly selective colleges and universities”, with packages that include assistance with writing essays, completing them on behalf of students and other services, including creating extracurricular activities that their clients can add to their application.

Many senior educations officials have been arrested or disciplined for abuse of power for personal gain. Investigations revealed that the results of more than 200 students from the three provinces who took their exams had been modified. Dozens of students from the best universities were expelled or voluntarily dropped out of school after their results were corrected.