“Village” universities sell “international” education

Published: 18/10/2009 05:00

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NA’s Deputy explains why many schools call themselves “international universities” without having any kind of international status.

Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children Nguyen Minh Thuyet

Nguoi Lao Dong: Can you comment on the recent proliferation of universities, especially the ones calling themselves “international universities”?

Nguyen Minh Thuyet: According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), Vietnam had 63 universities in 1987, and the figure rose to 150 in 2009. The number of students has raised by 13 times, while the number of lecturers has increased by three times only. The ratio of lecturer on student was 1/7 in 1987 and is 1/28 now.

You know, this situation can be compared to a pot of thin rice gruel. The gruel cannot be nourishing because the amount of rice is so small.


NLD: Is there any coincidence between the rise in “international universities” and the strategy set by MOET to build “universities with international standards”?

Thuyet: I think that Vietnamese universities’ goal should be to improve the quality of education in order to meet the socio-economic development needs of Vietnam, not to see Vietnamese universities listed among the top 100 or top 200 of the world’s universities.

Striving to build universities of international stature is really a vague and costly blunder. Because the “international” goal is unclear, university owners may name their institutions “international” to attract more students. In reality, these universities have “village status,” not international stature.

NLD: Some people think that “international” is just a common word that university founders can use for their schools. Are there any big universities in the world that have “international” in their names?

Thuyet: This is a misperception. MOET should tighten its management of university names to avoid confusing people. There is also the problem of translating school names into English. All the schools are called “university,” which means interdisciplinary school, and schools like naming themselves “national universities.”

None of the famous universities in the US and UK are called “international.” I was once in France, and I found that even the Sorbonne does not have “international” in its name.

NLD: What criteria must a university meet to be called an “international university”?

Thuyet: All the schools I mentioned do not have “international” in their name. None of the world’s top scientists are called “scientists of international stature.” Therefore, the label “international university” should refer to a school where foreign students account for a big proportion of the student population.

VietNamNet/NLD

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