Restructuring to form strong, interdisciplinary, autonomous universities

In particular, for academies, universities, and colleges, we will reorganize and restructure higher education institutions; merge and dissolve substandard higher education institutions; eliminate intermediate levels, ensure streamlined, unified, and effective management; research on merging research institutes with higher education institutions, and transfer some universities to local management. This policy is expected to create breakthrough developments so that Vietnamese higher education can compete and reach out to the world.

Photo caption — Students of the University of Technology (Vietnam National University , Hanoi ) practice in the laboratory.
Illustrative photo: VNA

Prepare for the "big rearrangement"

Currently, the country has more than 300 higher education institutions, including 11 universities (2 national universities, 3 regional universities, 6 universities upgraded from universities according to the Law on Higher Education 2018); 173 public universities and academies (excluding member schools of national universities and regional universities); 62 private universities and 5 foreign universities; 8 training schools with higher education activities; 31 schools in the defense and security sector; 40 research institutes training at doctoral level; 5 other facilities training masters and doctors.

At the recent 2025 Higher Education Conference, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said: We are preparing for a "major rearrangement" of higher education institutions and this is inevitable, similar to the merger of administrative units. The viewpoint of the Ministry of Education and Training is to overcome the fragmentation, smallness, and lack of development among schools, especially schools close to each other in terms of fields. The Ministry's Steering Committee has developed a plan, reported to the Prime Minister, and is waiting for instructions before implementing. The spirit is to arrange for schools to become stronger, not just reduce the number of focal points.

Regarding state management of higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education and Training advocates adjustments in the direction of reducing direct intervention, implementing more decentralization, delegation, and authorization. The principle is "firmly grasp what needs to be grasped, decisively let go of what needs to be let go". Schools are given stronger autonomy in academics, finance, science, and training, but administrative responsibilities must also be clearer.

Regarding this issue, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Chuong, Chairman of the University Council of the University of Transport, said that merging universities is necessary in the development process. Schools that no longer attract students should stop operating, while schools with good training conditions and effective enrollment should increase their quota. This is an inevitable rule and schools must follow the correct procedure.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duc Son, Principal of Hanoi National University of Education, shared: Having too many universities will disperse resources. There are schools with only a few hundred lecturers, meaning that the resources are not enough but they still try to train. This leads to a vicious circle of trying to have students to survive, which means low input, leading to low quality. Such dispersion and fragmentation does not bring good quality education.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duc Son, arranging and restructuring higher education institutions is considered a breakthrough for schools to become more prestigious, competitive, and able to reach out to the world. However, associated with the stature will be the story of how to manage human resources, how to streamline the apparatus effectively, that is the next step. Large units with large scale will have the ability to use common resources including lecturer resources, laboratory resources, like looking at agriculture, each place has a plot of land, it will never become a commodity agriculture.

Focus resources, improve quality and competitiveness

Emphasizing that this is the right time, an unprecedented opportunity to boldly reform the Vietnamese higher education system, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, former Chairman of the University Council of the University of Technology - Vietnam National University, Hanoi shared: Restructuring higher education institutions to best meet the requirements of training high-quality, highly qualified human resources, as well as focusing on developing science and technology, enhancing digital transformation and promoting innovation.

Analyzing the current context, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc said: The merger of universities comes from the need to concentrate resources so that Vietnamese higher education can have breakthrough developments and take off in the new era with great expectations.

First of all, the merger will help avoid dispersion and duplication of majors and programs, especially in small-scale, low-efficiency institutions, and at the same time contribute to raising international competitiveness. From this merger, multidisciplinary universities of sufficient size will be formed, with a research and innovation ecosystem, increasing opportunities to enter rankings and attract international scholars and students.

The merger will also promote autonomy and accountability because the less focal point model helps to plan strategies, finances, and human resources more synchronously. Especially in today's era, the merger facilitates digital transformation - interdisciplinary, combining digital capabilities, data, laboratories, and libraries to solve interdisciplinary problems.

“Ultimately, the ultimate goal of the merger and reform is to streamline the apparatus, improve the operational efficiency of universities, improve the quality of training and research, and enhance the competitiveness and governance of universities,” Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc emphasized.

Regarding some concerns that the merger will lead to organizational disruption, affecting the interests of lecturers and students, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc expressed: These concerns and worries are common when merging and have a basis, such as: concerns about changes in structure, job positions, habits, income; transfer of tasks, new assessment standards; the level of harmony and integration of traditional culture of schools after the merger.

To address these concerns and do a good job of merging, according to Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, it is necessary to unify the principle of handling "no one is left behind", along with transparency and division by stages. After merging and restructuring, schools need to urgently rebuild job positions, functional descriptions, academic standards; establish an independent, public and transparent assessment and adjustment mechanism; especially the financial mechanism, internal spending regulations, must anticipate quite complicated situations such as an autonomous school merging with a non-autonomous school and vice versa.

Universities are academic environments, so mergers are different from businesses and administrative agencies. Therefore, with lecturers, it is necessary to respect seniority and achievements; in unity, accept differences; at the same time, have a training and development plan associated with raising standards, supporting research; and maintaining stable income during the transition period.

For students, it is necessary to preserve their learning rights, for example, the current training program framework, number of credits, and tuition fees, while having a plan to gradually unify training program standards after the merger.

The general spirit of the merger is not “mechanical integration” but strategic restructuring to form strong, interdisciplinary, autonomous, and highly accountable universities. The success of this “reform” depends on institutional design, governance model, transparent data, humanistic roadmap, and commitment to putting quality – people – national mission at the center.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/tai-cau-truc-de-hinh-thanh-nhung-dai-hoc-manh-lien-nganh-tu-chu-20250926153205738.htm