At the June 7 meeting, chaired by NA deputy chairwoman Tong Thi Phong discussed the implementation of law on establishment, investment and quality of university education.

A report from the NA Standing Committee stated that by September 30, 2009 Vietnam had 180 universities and 232 colleges, of which 78 were private educational centres and 28 belonged to the national defense and security sectors. However, despite the fast expansion and rapid growth in the numbers of universities and colleges, the quality of education cannot meet the social demand and development in the region.

Most of the newly established universities and colleges are strict in implementing what they have committed to the universities and colleges establishment, including building new infrastructure, and employing new staff with master or doctorate degrees. However, 11 of 50 private universities and colleges do not build their universities or colleges in their registered areas. They have to rent facilities to operate efficiently.

Due to the fact that some universities and colleges cannot ensure education quality in line with Education Law, deputy Trieu Thi Binh proposed the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) should control, monitor and suspend the operation of these educational centres.

Deputy Dang Thi Nga from the Lam Dong delegation proposed to protect learners’ rights, the NA should stipulate that if a university does not meet requirements for facilities and teachers after three years of establishment, it will be degraded to college or high school or stop operating.

Other deputies also asked the Government and the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to check the training conditions of newly established universities, instead of granting operational licenses beyond the limit.

Many universities currently provide distance training programmes. However, education quality remains low due to practical difficulties such as over-enrollment and slow curriculum reform.

Deputy Le Van Cuong from the Thanh Hoa province delegation said there should be regulations which stipulate duties the responsibilities of the NA, the Government, relevant ministries and departments, localities and each university and college for controlling and improving the quality of tertiary education.

Ninh Thuan province delegate Nguyen Ngoc Minh said the MoET should limit licenses to universities fro provision of in-service training and strictly control the quality of teaching and lecturers as well as learners.

Sharing the same view, deputy Ngo Thi Doan Thanh from Hanoi said that around 900,000 students are following in-service training. The figure is too large and the quality of education is low. Many universities are not equipped with adequate facilities and a lack of qualified lecturers. “The MoET should inspect enrollment at universities,” she said

In the afternoon, the NA deputies continued discussing how to implement the regulations on the establishment and operation of universities to ensure the quality of tertiary education.