Continued article: 'Faltering' universities: Opening university majors is easier than opening colleges

TP - When opening university training programs, only the health sector is required by the Ministry of Health to meet minimum equipment standards. Meanwhile, for many college training programs, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (formerly) has very strict requirements on this issue.

Students of Hanoi National University practice in the laboratory. Photo: Hoa Ban

Strict with college

In 2020, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued Circular 15 stipulating the list of minimum training equipment for intermediate and college levels for 41 occupations. For the information technology industry at the college level (Appendix 02 of Circular 15), the Ministry requires a list of minimum equipment for functional rooms such as basic technical rooms, foreign language rooms, computer practice rooms, computer hardware practice rooms, computer network practice rooms, and computer software practice rooms.

In each room, the circular requires details of each piece of equipment and explains what purpose it serves. For example, in the technical room, there must be at least one projector to illustrate lectures, many other equipment for training, including first aid equipment, fire prevention and fighting equipment, and electrical safety equipment.

The minimum number of computers required for training in information technology must be at least 84 sets. Each functional department has very detailed requirements from training equipment to safety equipment.

Regarding the opening of university majors, the circular of the Ministry of Education and Training only stipulates that facilities, equipment, libraries, and textbooks must meet the requirements of teaching, learning, and research according to the requirements of the training program, and must meet the requirements of facilities according to the regulations of the training program standards of the field, group of majors, and training majors...

It can be seen that the current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training on opening university training majors do not specifically detail the material facilities and equipment. Leaders of some universities commented that for technical majors, if detailed equipment regulations like those at the college level were given, it would be difficult for any school to meet them.

The Ministry of Education and Training told Tien Phong that in the draft revised Law on Education , the Ministry plans to tighten the training of 3 "teachers" (teachers, lawyers, and doctors). Accordingly, these fields will have to inspect and approve training programs and set minimum scores. Control over these three fields is not only about input control, not only about output control, but also about the entire process because the "three teachers" have a huge impact on all social activities.

Long-term consequences

Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung, former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, said that the current situation of regulations on minimum equipment lists in the vocational education system and university education in Vietnam reflects a significant difference between the two levels of training. While vocational colleges have clear regulations on minimum equipment, universities lack similar regulations, leading to differences in investment in facilities and training quality.

Vocational colleges require a minimum equipment list to ensure students practice on tools and machines close to actual production.

On the contrary, at the university level, the lack of mandatory regulations on minimum equipment leads to a situation where many schools that open majors do not invest enough in laboratories, workshops or modern technology. This often causes university students to lack practical skills.

This difference creates many consequences. For vocational colleges, strict requirements on facilities help ensure output quality, but also increase investment costs, limiting the expansion capacity of some training facilities.

Meanwhile, opening a university major is easier in terms of procedures and facilities, but leads to uneven training quality. Many university graduates lack practical skills, making it difficult to compete in the labor market, while businesses have to spend more on retraining. This not only affects the reputation of universities but also reduces the society's trust in the university education system.

The reason for this difference comes from the lack of uniformity in educational management policies. University education is often oriented to focus on theory and research, while vocational education emphasizes application.

In addition, the pressure to compete to attract students has led some universities to open new majors without focusing on investing in facilities. As a result, the gap between vocational training and university training is growing, making it difficult for university students to meet the requirements of real jobs.

Mr. Dung proposed that to narrow this gap, it is necessary to develop a list of minimum required equipment for university training majors, especially engineering and high-tech majors. The Ministry of Education and Training should coordinate with businesses to determine facility standards that are suitable for labor market needs. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen quality control and strictly handle schools that open majors without ensuring facility conditions.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tiep-bai-truong-dai-hoc-lay-lat-mo-nganh-dai-hoc-de-hon-cao-dang-post1769296.tpo