Part-time degree holders juggle work and study

Reader Vuong Hong Duong, a part-time degree alum, remarked: “Part-time study is just ‘skimming the surface,’ or bluntly, ‘clocking in and out.’”

Reader Pham Huu Yen agreed. “I studied part-time—it’s nowhere near as serious as full-time. Defending part-time degrees is just excuses,” he said.

Still, he noted that not all full-time grads excel at work. For fairness, he suggested picking full-time degree holders first, then filtering further.

Reader Nguyen Kien, an official with formal training, said those with full-time degrees possess sharper scientific and logical thinking.

“This helps them apply theory to practice better than officials relying on experiential thinking,” Kien argued, adding that compared to the structured, scientific mindset of full-time university grads, experience-based thinking struggles to embrace new ideas.

Drawing from years managing officials, reader Viet Hoa believes full-time degree holders consistently grasp knowledge more firmly than part-time ones.

“Most who lack the ability for full-time programs turn to part-time degrees as a way to ‘level the playing field',” the reader wrote.

Reader Nguyen Tung argued that in the past, the offered pay was poor, which explained why it was difficult to attract talent for commune officers. In people’s thoughts, only those who did not pass university exams took commune jobs and later earned part-time degrees “for the paper”.

Tung said that since the commune officers don’t have high quality, they do not have good capacity and have a limited vision for local development.

Agreeing that commune officers received low pay in the past, reader Lieu Minh Tuan thought otherwise.

“When communes faced endless struggles and staff shortages, part-time and college grads came forward and undertook tasks. Where were the full-time degree holders then—why didn’t they apply?” he asked.

He argued that commune officials earning part-time degrees while working showed real grit, not sloppy learning.

“Hold a fair, transparent test now, and we’ll see whose thinking shines,” Tuan challenged.

Mindset matters more than degrees

Yet many people believe that part-time or full-time degrees don’t determine ability. Ho Van Tien, division head of a state agency, said he holds a part-time degree, and after years of working, he became a division head, leading the staff with full-time degrees and even master’s degree holders.

Tien said he knows many officers who have two bachelor’s degrees, but don’t even know how to write a report. 

“The key to work is mindset and duty, not the degree,” he stressed.

Another reader agreed that part-time degrees may not rival full-time ones, but picking officials needs more than paper—it’s about skills and experience. “Full-time study takes more effort, sure. But choosing public servants demands patriotism, integrity, sacrifice, teamwork, service, and empathy—putting yourself in people’s shoes,” they wrote.

“Full-time or part-time degree should just be one factor for consideration. For leaders, pick full-time grads; for technical roles, part-time degree holders will be fine. It’s ‘social fairness’—don’t discriminate if they can do the job,” reader Trinh Hong Minh argued.

On the commune officer hiring, reader Hoai Thuong, a 24-year county official, suggested criteria:

“First, keep those who passed civil service exams organized by provinces. Second, favor full-time degree holders. Third, pick ethical, exemplary, proactive officials. Last, choose eager learners with advanced studies.

“Screen by those four steps, and you’ll retain talent to serve the people,” she proposed.

Two-tier local government, no district

Per Conclusion No126 dated February 14 and No127 dated February 28, the Politburo and Central Secretariat directed: “Study merging some provincial units, scrap county-level administration, merge certain commune-level units; adopt a two-tier local model (party, government, mass organizations) for lean, effective governance.”

The recent draft amendment to the Local Government Organization Law also proposes two-tier administrative and governmental units: provincial and grassroots, with no district units.

Provinces and centrally-run cities would stay as is but may merge some units to meet standards and expand development space.

Current commune-level units would reorganize into grassroots units—communes, wards, and special island zones—to fit the new model.

Special economic-administrative units will remain as now, set by the National Assembly.

Nguyen Thao