OTHER ARTICLES TÊT SEASON GREETINGS1 Being asked to express wishes on the occasion of the coming Têt reminds me of the British Embassador who received a phone call on New Year’s Eve from a radio station : – Your Highness, you have been collaborating with us for so many years, we would much appreciate if you could let us know of your wishes for the New Year. – That is very kind of you, the Embassador answered, I really do not know what to say ; but if you really insist, a box of chocolates would do very well. The morning after, the Embassador listened to the radio : – On the occasion of the New Year we asked a few of the Embassadors in town to tell us about their wishes. The UN Embassador said that nothing was more valuable for the world than peace, his wish was to have at last a year without wars; the Indian Embassador wished that everyone around the planet could have enough to eat ; the British Embassador... Indeed, being able to keep our sense of humour intact in spite of adversity may be the most valuable wish we might formulate... But if you really insist, as the British Embassdor would say, I should like to express two more wishes. First that the Vietnamese youth, and in particular the many talented Vietnamese students who value knowledge and wisdom more than dollars, be offered in their country a chance to have the bright future which they deserve having. My second wish is of a more modest reach but very close to my heart; recently, those of us in Vietnam who wish to promote research and teaching of modern astrophysics in the country have got together and joined effort to this aim (see http://ftri.fpt.edu.vn/APG.html). I wish to see our small group develop and strengthen and Vietnam recognize the importance of supporting fundamental research in general and astrophysics, which is the current branch of natural sciences that develops fastest, in particular. COMMENTS ON RECENT US VIEWS ON VIETNAMESE HIGHER EDUCATION In summer last year an APEX University report by Vallely and Wilkinson2 was widely publicized both in Vietnam and abroad. In the autumn, it triggered very hostile comments by another American citizen, Professor Koblitz3 from Seattle. The controversy that has resulted can only distract us from addressing the real problems and does not serve Vietnamese interests. While the reader is expected to know about both documents, let me recall that the APEX report is a very severe, yet reasonably objective, analysis of the Vietnamese situation in matters of higher education. Unfortunately, while the substance is essentially true to the facts, the style is arrogant and ignorant of the recent history. It makes the reader who loves science and Vietnam feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, Koblitz' paper shows a deep sensitivity to the Vietnamese reality but is essentially a virulent attack against the authors of the APEX report. It is mostly an attack on the form, very few of the facts concerning today's universities in Vietnam are denied. While being essentially in agreement with Koblitz' paper, I fear that its publication will not help those, and they are many, who are fighting in Vietnam for a better higher education. It will be taken as an argument for continuing a sterile step by step approach that has been adopted for now several decades and that has been shown to lead nowhere. What is needed today is a phase transition, a real revolution in the approach to the problems. It is not an easy task, it takes unusual doses of vision, courage and 1 Published in Tia Sang, 2011 2 www.hks.harvard.edu/.../asia/.../HigherEducationOverview112008.pdf 3 www.math.washington.edu/~koblitz/vnhigheredE.pdf 1 determination. The APEX report had at least the advantage of stirring up the hornets' nest and making the Government aware of the emergency. As a foreigner living in Vietnam − for now over ten years during which I have spent my time between teaching and training Vietnamese physics students and done my best to fight for better Vietnamese universities − I know how delicate it is to be critical of institutions of a country which is not mine. Many Vietnamese voices are more competent, more experienced and much wiser than mine. Such voices should be heard before those of foreign observers such as Vallely, Wilkinson and Koblitz. We, foreigners, have not suffered the hardship which our Vietnamese colleagues have suffered; on the contrary, we have usually enjoyed excellent working conditions and good wages during our academic careers. Whatever we may say must be said with extreme humility. Yet, to the extent that my comments are constructive and well founded, to the extent that they are expressed without arrogance, I consider it a duty towards my students to say what I think. I must do all what I can for them to have, in their home country, the future which they deserve having. This is more important than the colour of my passport. The country has been − and still is − suffering a catastrophic brain drain, two to three generations of university professors have been essentially lost by three decades of wars, pains and hardship, a fraction of the most learned population has joined the diaspora, the wages offered to teachers and researchers are blatantly too low, the universities are desperately short of the atmosphere of intellectual excellence one expects to find within their walls. Moreover, the democratization of higher education triggers in the minds of people unrealistic hopes for social promotion, a socio-cultural problem which is present everywhere around the world and has nowhere found a satisfactory solution. If anything it is more acute in Vietnam where the illiteracy rate has dropped from 95% in 1944 to 6% in 2004. All this is well known and it is not of much use to repeat it over and over; rubbing salt on the wound does not help. It seems today that one has become conscious at all levels of the delay accumulated over the years between Vietnamese universities and those of major foreign countries. It seems also that the importance of catching this delay as soon as possible has been recognized as a national emergency. The Government has made it clear on several occasions that it was strongly determined to act towards a significant improvement of the quality of Vietnamese universities. It is no longer time to denounce their deficiencies − although keeping a clear view of the nature of such deficiencies remains essential − but rather to make sure that the remedy will be efficient. And we should not close our eyes: the task is immensely difficult. In such a context, the Vallely-Wilkinson-Koblitz controversy is out of place. The emergency, today, is to unite efforts coherently and at all levels, placing the collective interest above personal interests, to help the Government with leading the revolution that is required. The danger of chaos is real in the absence of a clear policy, one cannot drive a harness when every one is pulling in his own direction, and the Government cannot implement a sound and efficient policy without the coherent support of the whole academic and research community. What we need today is to catch all possible opportunities that have a chance to contribute positively to the phase transition that is called for. In particular, while being in full agreement with Koblitz' reservations on foreign contributions to the edification of the new university − Vietnam should not copy what is being done abroad because the boundary conditions are different, not to mention the many failures experienced by foreign universities − I am convinced that the decision of the Government to establish four new universities of high level with the help of foreign countries is an opportunity that should not be missed. It is up to us, in the Vietnamese community of researchers and teachers, to make it a success. I argued elsewhere that the young generation should be playing a major role in such endeavour. They will be the professors of tomorrow's university which is now starting to be built. It is on their shoulders that it will rest. Its success will depend on them. It is their duty, starting today, to unite efforts to give the Government the coherent support that it needs to successfully accomplish its difficult task. They must become conscious without delay of the role they have to play in the construction of the new University. Without their active participation, the Government would be unable to elaborate alone the higher education and research policy which the Nation needs. They can count on a massive support from the generations of their parents and grand parents. 2 NGO BAO CHAU, PRIDE OF VIETNAM AND A CHANCE FOR ITS SCIENCE4 The first time I heard of Ngo Bao Chau was in March 2009. Having been invited to spend a month in Orsay, I paid a visit to my friend Annick Suzor-Weiner who was at the time responsible for international relations at University Paris-Sud and in the chair of the Committee for Scientific and Technical Cooperation with Vietnam. She told me about his work and it was already clear at the time that he was likely to be awarded the Fields Medal. The second time was a few weeks ago, just before the official announcement of the award. He had learned of our small research team and we invited him to spend the morning and have lunch with us. We were aware of the chance and honor it was for us to meet him, the students were very proud to have an opportunity to listen and talk to him.