This information is part of a draft plan for a university and college network in the 2006-2010 period, which was discussed at a symposium held in Hanoi on November 10.

The State will also encourage local and foreign investors to set up private universities and vocational schools in prosperous areas, populated cities and concentrated industrial zones.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Banh Tien Long, the enrolment for universities and colleges nationwide will reach 3 million students by 2015 and 4.5 million students by 2020, 70-80 percent of whom will be trained in applied occupations and the remaining 20-30 percent in theoretical courses.

In the 2005-2006 academic year, universities and colleges enrolled 1,380,000 students, a 1.41-fold increase from five years ago.