This is my latest essay for University World News, uploaded yesterday. The (editor’s) title is a rhetorical question that I’m pleased to answer in the affirmative, assuming institutions act accordingly. I address some possible steps to take in the last section entitled A time to rebuild. 2021 will also be a time of economic recovery and impressive economic growth in Viet Nam, which is directly related to the ability of families to afford big-tickets such as overseas study.

As I mentioned, “Even though Vietnam jumped into fifth place with 25,824 students, it sent 4,152 fewer students to the US than in January 2020, a decrease of 13.85%. On the bright side, this was one of the lower percentage decreases among the top 10 sending countries, the highest of which was for Japan (-38.24%), followed by Saudi Arabia (-32.48%). The lowest was for Nigeria (-11.31%).” As I stated in this 6.1.21 post Vietnamese Student Numbers Down Slightly “Down Under,” the decrease in Australia-bound Vietnamese students from January to October 2020 was 6%.

Shalom (שלום), MAA