VietNamNet Bridge - The network of universities in Vietnam, which has expanded in recent years, will shrink as the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has decided to tighten control over the establishment of universities.

 

MOET has decided to tighten control over the establishment of universities.

MOET has released Circular No 32 on the enrolment quotas for university education establishments, calculated based on three criteria – the ratio of lecturers to students, the building floor area for students, and the maximum number of students set by MOET for each training major.

The number of full-time students at universities belonging to Group VI (healthcare) must not be higher than 8,000. Meanwhile, the figure is 5,000 for schools belonging to Group II (arts schools) and 15,000 for the remaining groups.

From February 1, 2016, the number of students will be calculated based on the teaching staff of every training major.

As for national and local universities, the maximum number of students will be defined for their member schools. MOET’s Minister will make decisions on the enrolment quotas in some special cases.

In the past, MOET requested schools to calculate the number of students to enroll based on their teaching staff. 

But from February 1, 2016, when the circular takes effect, the number of students will be calculated based on the teaching staff of every training major.

Training majors have been classified into seven groups, while the conversion ratio is one lecturer for every 10-25 students.

Many schools have voiced their complaints about the new regulation, saying that they can meet the requirement on the ratio of lecturers on students in general, but cannot in every training major.

An analyst said there are many schools which have more than 15,000 students. This means that in order to obey the new regulation, they will have to reduce their training scale.

Hanoi Economics University, for example, now has 45,000 students, while the Hanoi University of Technology has 25,000 full-time students.

The head of a large school in Hanoi commented that with the new regulation, MOET will place big difficulties for schools to implement their training plans, because the ministry has resumed the ‘ask-and-grant mechanism’.

Once the circular takes place, schools will have to cut the number of students quickly to scale down the training to the allowed level. The process is expected to have a negative impact on the plan to develop the teaching staff.

Also according to Circular 32, universities will have to stop providing 3-year training (students finishing 3-year training will be recognized as graduating from junior colleges) by 2020 to focus on four- to five-year training. This means that from now to 2020, they will have to cut the number of 3-year training students by 30 percent every year.


NLD