VietNamNet Bridge – Career advisory days have been organised by press agencies in an effort to provide students with more information about study branches and careers.

Do Thanh Duy from the Ministry of Education and Training answers students’ questions during career consultancy day in March 2007 in Tien Giang province

Several travel firms have offered these kinds of tours, where students can go to cities for excursions and attend career advisory activities at universities and junior colleges at the same time. The HCM City Agriculture and Forestry University in the first two months of the year received eight delegations of students from other provinces who came to seek information about the university’s study branches and opportunities to enroll in the university. These included four tours organised by tourism firms.

According to Ta Thai Phat from Tre Xanh (Green Bamboo) Tourism Company, in Tay Ninh province alone, the company has organised over 10 tours for 600 students (each student had to pay VND100,000 per tour). Phat said that the company plans to reach out to neighbouring provinces, including Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An and Binh Duong.

Worries exist

Vo Thanh Danh, Headmaster of Huynh Van Nghe High School in Binh Duong province, said that it benefits students to visit multiple institutions that give career advice to students, no matter whether the service providers are press agencies or businesses.

Tran Dinh Ly, Head of the Centre for Student Support and Corporate Relation under the HCM City Agriculture and Forestry University, also said that the service benefits ‘both parties’.

Nevertheless, universities still have worries about the legitimacy of some organisations that provide career advisory services.

A company in Tan Binh district in HCM City declared falsely that it had cooperated with the HCM City National University in co-organising tours and collecting money from high schools. Therefore, the university has refused all offers by enterprises to organise career advisory tours.

Meanwhile, the HCM City Agriculture and Forestry University only receives delegations of students if high schools send groups directly to the university.

Dr Nguyen Duc Nghia, Deputy Director of the HCM City National University, said that it is necessary to set up a legal framework for career advisory services. He said that universities that give career advice need to support each other, and not compete with each other, which could lead to bad consequences.

VietNamNet/SGTT