University autonomy still has many shortcomings

(NLDO) - The success of university autonomy will contribute significantly to improving the quality of human resources, promoting innovation, and socio -economic development.

The Vietnam University Education Quality Assurance Network Club (CLB) in collaboration with Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City, recently organized a workshop on "Innovation in university governance on the basis of university autonomy associated with quality assurance".

Speaking at the workshop, Dr. Tran Viet Anh, Vice Principal in charge of Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vice President of the Club, said that university governance based on autonomy is not only an inevitable trend but also an important solution to help universities flexibly adapt to rapid changes in society, thereby optimizing resources and improving competitiveness. However, to do this effectively, there needs to be a close combination of factors such as: Digital transformation in governance and teaching, ensuring the quality of education and training, international cooperation and developing training programs towards sustainability, mobilizing and managing resources in a sustainable manner.

Dr. Tran Viet Anh speaks at the conference

Referring to the process of university autonomy in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, University of Transport Technology, said that there are currently about 30 public universities implementing autonomy and have achieved certain achievements, the position of autonomous universities in the national education system has been consolidated and has more motivation for development, deeply affecting society, creating more flexible sources of income, increasing the income of the teaching staff, and easier integration. However, the process of implementing autonomy also revealed limitations and inadequacies such as an unsynchronized legal framework, some pilot universities have not prepared well for the conditions for implementing autonomy, many universities understand and incorrectly implement the right to autonomy as the right to "decide everything" without paying attention to the provisions of the law...

Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc evaluates university autonomy as "100% contract"

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, Chairman of the University Council - University of Technology (VNU Hanoi ), Head of the Club, assessed that "university autonomy is like a 100% contract" but university autonomy is also giving rise to many problems and shortcomings. He also said that for public schools, autonomy has been clearly regulated but for private schools, the issue of autonomy still has many shortcomings and has not been fully implemented. According to him, there needs to be a clear division of authority and responsibility between the school owner and the board of directors.

Regarding the change in education quality in the context of globalization - challenges and opportunities, Dr. Nguyen Minh Huyen Trang, Head of Student Affairs Department of Ho Chi Minh City National University, said that maintaining and ensuring education quality (QoE) as well as changing and responding to change, facing inevitable challenges. These difficulties not only come from the complex nature of changes in QoE in the context of globalization but are also related to external factors and limitations of the relevant agencies and organizations.

At the workshop, opinions also focused on discussing the assessment and development of university education in Vietnam, including: International access and integration of Vietnamese university education, standards and quality of university education, digital transformation and technology application in education, management and autonomy mechanisms of universities with key points such as international access and integration, standards and quality, digital transformation and technology application, management and autonomy mechanisms.

Delegates attending the conference

The presentations and discussions also mentioned the remarkable achievements of Vietnamese higher education thanks to the implementation of autonomy, such as strengthening autonomy capacity, mobilizing social resources, improving quality and international integration. However, there are still many difficulties and shortcomings that need to be overcome, such as not really promoting the role and responsibility of universities, especially public universities; Governance and financial mechanisms are not flexible enough, not creating strong motivation for innovation and creativity; Training quality and capacity to meet social needs are still limited.

The main recommendations mention the need to improve institutions and laws on university autonomy, clarify the roles and responsibilities of the subjects; Create conditions for public schools to truly promote autonomy, while still ensuring quality; Encourage and create conditions for non-public schools to develop strongly and compete healthily; Promote cooperation and association between universities with businesses and social organizations.

In his concluding remarks, Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc emphasized that the success of university autonomy will contribute significantly to improving the quality of human resources, promoting innovation, and socio-economic development.

Focusing on the topic of university autonomy innovation in Vietnam, Mr. Duc said that it is necessary to determine who is "bigger" than the principal and the chairman of the school board to determine superiority and inferiority. The chairman of the school board is the one who makes strategies and appoints the principal, but in the school, the principal is the one who holds the seal. If the principal and the chairman of the school board are united, the school will develop and vice versa.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tu-chu-dai-hoc-con-nhieu-bat-cap-196241215100842943.htm