Vietnam in talks to acquire rights to Finland's education programs

Education officials from Vietnam are in Finland to learn about the Scandinavian country's education programs from elementary to undergraduate level.

A delegation led by Minister of Education Phung Xuan Nha held talks with their Finnish counterparts on Monday about acquiring the rights to publish Finnish educational material in a variety of subjects, local media reported.

During the meeting, Vietnamese universities, high schools and their partners signed 18 memorandums of understanding on education transfer.

They also agreed on plans to open a Finnish high school in Hanoi to add to the one in Ho Chi Minh City that will open next year.

Finland has one of the most successful education systems in the world, which focuses on early education and encourages research and experiment.

The country is usually one of the best performers among developed countries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, a guide used to measure education systems around the world.

Its students ranked 12 out of 72 economies in the latest test results released last December, a drop compared to its dominance in 2000, 2003 and 2006.

Vietnam ranked 21st last year.