The most prominent and longest lasting movement of students in Vietnam for many years is ‘Student of Five Merits’, namely good morality, good study, good integration, good volunteer, and good physical. This movement has been the goal of the majority of students and most universities, colleges nationwide.
Chairman Tran Duc Minh from the Student Association of Vietnam National University of Agriculture shared that his university has formed task forces, invested in long-term mini-movements of scientific research, volunteer, integration, and used the models of members winning the title ‘Student of 5 Merits’ as effective ways to encourage other students to join in the movement.
Similarly, aware of the usefulness of this movement, students in Vietnam National University – Hanoi have launched many activities to train themselves for long term to achieve the criteria of this movement.
VSA Chairman Nguyen Minh Triet commented that the movement has basically created suitable activities among students so that they become rounded people with professional expertise, practical soft skills, good morality to join in the high-quality labor force in the future.
The Central Committee of VSA has cooperated with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to introduce a proper reward mechanism for students obtaining the title ‘Student of 5 Merits’ at the central level. VSA has also signed an agreement with the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association (VYEA) to provide suitable support to those with this title.
From the main movement of ‘Student with 5 Merits’, several sub-movements of all scales have kicked off, offering an ideal environment for students to fully develop themselves. The first goal of these sub-movements is to train the morality aspect and increase the political awareness of students nationwide through Young Theory Clubs.
First Secretary Bui Quang Huy of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) commented that Young Theory Clubs were first established in HCMC and have so far become the model for the whole country. They have organized formal discussions, forums, seminars to help members raise their understanding about the Party’s directions and policies so that these young people do not waver when receiving hostiles opinions, but would rather join hands to eliminate harmful acts.
Other sub-movements have offered a favorable environment for VSA members in universities to study, conduct scientific research, and follow innovative ideas. Such academic programs as the global scientific conference for young Vietnamese people, he Olympic competition in economics and applications, the Student Chietech intellectual technology competition have attracted the participation of a large quantity of students all over the country. Many results of these programs have been highly appreciated by experts as effective methods in the educational field.
One key point in the ‘Student of 5 Merits’ movement is to raise students’ responsibility to the community and the country. This is done via the campaigns of ‘Exam season support’, ‘Green summer’, ‘Winter volunteer’, ‘Spring volunteer’ as well as practical schemes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides creating meaningful activities for students to take part in, VSA has also been a strong supporter to all students in need. Chairman Nguyen Minh Triet informed that the highlights of the previous tenure are diverse and sustainable connections between VSA and related organizations, businesses to optimize possible resources and best provide support to students. At the same time, the tasks of psychological counseling and mental health care for students have received much attention.
Other useful activities like offering gifts and coach tickets for students to return home for Tet holiday, updating necessary information about the labor market, delivering precise forecast on human resources needs, organizing training sessions for professional expertise and soft skills have greatly boosted the attachment and trust among students towards VSA.
During the 2018-2023 tenure, the ‘Student of Five Merits’ movement honored:
- 960 “Students of 5 Merits” at the central level, accounting for 96 percent of the set target;
- 18,994 “Students of 5 Merits” at the provincial level, accounting for 189.9 percent of the set target;
- 262,272 “Students of 5 Merits” at the university level, accounting for 138 percent of the set target.
Activities of VSA to help students:
- 100 percent of university-level student associations held training sessions to equip students with startup knowledge;
- 100 percent of university-level student associations held activities to support students during their international integration;
- More than 1.9 million students have received job recommendations, about 496,000 of whom have worked stably;
- The scholarships and awards worth VND479 billion (US$19.67 million) in total have been mobilized to deliver to students.
