Only a handful of universities were established between 1998-2003, but new universities have been mushrooming since 2006.

Premature births

In July 2008, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) released a document, saying that the Nguyen Trai University did not have feasible building and development plans. MOET also pointed out that the university independently organized joint training program with foreign partners without permission from the management agency.

The university went ahead and enrolled students in September 2008 for four study branches: economics, business administration, finance-banking and accounting.

In its first year, the university could only enroll 20 students. After local newspapers exposed a lot of problems at the university, the student quota was lowered from 800 to 400. Yet the university has “given birth” to additional majors.

Since the school has few students, it cannot recruit many lecturers. As a result, the university cannot offer high quality training, which makes students suffer.

Four universities sprang up in the former Ha Tay province in 2007. The founders of Nguyen Trai and Dai Nam Universities applied in Ha Tay province to obtain the license more easily. Their headquarters is actually located in innermost Hanoi.

Other private institutions have copied this method of registering in outlying provinces, but existing within Hanoi and HCM City.

Universities upgraded in massive scale

Among recently established universities, many also try rapid upgrades. The growing trend of junior colleges re-making themselves into universities is a strategy to attract more students.

Thanh Do Technology Junior College (which provides 3-year training) was set up three years ago and has now been “upgraded” into a university.

Nguyen Tat Thanh University transformed from a 2-year training school to a college (3-year training school) and then into a university (4-year training school) in a matter of several years.

Five “upgraded” universities were established in August 2009 alone, including Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University (upgraded from the Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry Junior College); Dong Nai Technology University (upgraded from Dong Nai Polytechnical and Technology College).

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan affirmed that licensed universities must meet standard requirements, but Vietnam does not try to develop university networks or resolve quality issues.

Nhan believed that there is no need to build up universities in all localities, because it may result in a dispersal of education strength.

VietNamNet/TP