VietNamNet Bridge - PhDs are now welcomed with open arms at universities, which are willing to pay hundreds of millions of dong to attract talented lecturers.



{keywords}

The number of lecturers with doctorate in Vietnam and regional countries





Nguyen Duc Minh, vice president of the HCMC Industry University, said at a conference held in early August that the school has 186 lecturers with doctorates, including 50 newly recruited teachers.

The number of lecturers with a doctorate has increased rapidly because the school is applying a policy to attract talent. As the school enjoys financial autonomy, it has the right to offer very attractive pay of VND100 million to each PhD.

The head of the training division of a state-owned university in HCMC said the school looks for PhDs with talent, offering attractive remuneration. One PhD has monthly income of no less than VND20 million and can earn more from research projects.

However, he admitted it is difficult to retain PhDs. In 2016, the school recruited one PhD. But he left the school after two months. The head of the training division later found that the PhD changed his jobs regularly. He is now working for a junior college after leaving two other schools.


Private schools, with powerful financial capability and more flexible financial policies, are formidable rivals to state-owned schools.

Bui Anh Thuy, president of the University of Labor and Social Affairs, said the school had been ‘rolling out red carpet’ for PhDs for many years. Those who satisfy the requirements set by the school can receive VND50 million in allowance if they commit to work for the school for at least five years.

Besides the monthly fixed salary, lecturers with a doctorate can get extra income and are well paid if they have additional lecturing hours. The school is willing to send them to training courses, and pay for the tuition, documents and travel allowance.

He said within a short time, the school spent over VND3 billion to attract talents. However, the school could only recruit one or two PhDs each year. Only seven lecturers still work there after seven years of implementing the plan to attract talented staff. The others agreed to work for the school, but left later.

Thuy commented that the movement of human resources is normal in the context of international integration. Schools have to compete with each other to invite talented lecturers to work for them.

In the competition, private schools, with powerful financial capability and more flexible financial policies, are formidable rivals to state-owned schools.

Ton Duc Thang University offers very attractive salaries depending on lecturers’ academic records and lecturing hours. Lecturers can also receive accommodations allocated by the school. 

“Talented PhDs are always welcome at our school,” said Le Van Ut, head of the training division.