VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training has told a college and university in HCM City to cease enrolling graduates from vocational training schools without permission from the ministry's or city People's Committee.

The schools were found to be in violation of the ministry's regulation on training co-operation and transfer during an inspection from October to December last year, the ministry said.

They are Van Xuan University of Technology, ASEAN College, Tay Sai Gon Vocational School and Van Tuong Vocational School.

The Van Xuan University of Technology was enrolling students from Tay Sai Gon Vocational School in its Business Administration classes conducted at Binh Tan District's Vocational Training Centre.

No contract had been signed between the university and vocational school, according to the ministry's HCM City office.

In addition, ASEAN College was working with Van Tuong Vocational School to enroll students in its pharmaceutical faculty without the city People's Committee's permission.

If they receive approval from the ministry, colleges and universities are allowed to give their own entrance exams to vocational-training graduates who want to transfer.

However, ASEAN College and Van Xuan University of Technology had not sought permission from the ministry on testing or transferring of students from vocational schools.

The four schools in violation were not fined, but will be subject to fines if they repeat the offense, according to the ministry.

Regulations require that universities and colleges seek permission from either the People's Committee or the local department of the Ministry of Education and Training before setting up a working relationship with vocational training schools.

To better enforce the rules, the ministry is revising the amount of fines that would be levied against such violations. The maximum fine would be VND60 million (US$2,857).

Also, under the draft, violators might be required to stop accepting such students for at least one year, or asked to cease enrollment of such students altogether.

Dr Bui Anh Tuan, head of the ministry's Tertiary Education Department, said that survey results showed that the quality of training in these transfer courses was alarmingly poor.

He said that strict fines could help to not only ensure training quality but also stop the illegal transfer of vocational-training graduates to universities and colleges.

Source: VNS