LookAtVietnam – Once again, the enrollment season has come and gone, and vocational schools lack enough students.

Once again, the enrollment season has come and gone, and vocational schools lack enough students.

Vocational schools still cannot attract students

Go to vocational schools first, then to universities?

Vocational schools suffer from lack of teachers

Nguyen Van Hiep from the HCM City Department for Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs noted that it has been difficult to enroll students at vocational schools for many years, but most especially this year.

Vocational schools tried to advertise themselves several months ago, when school organized meetings for career guidance. They delivered leaflets to introduce their schools to students who sit university entrance exams.

“Some vocational schools offer tuition reductions and promise jobs to students after they graduate,” Hiep revealed.

According to Hiep, it is more difficult to enroll students at vocational schools because the quota for students enrolled in universities increased this year.

“Parents and students nowadays are not interested in vocational schools, but instead they tend to go to economics schools,” Hiep explained. “Nowadays, very few students register to study lathing, welding and mechanical engineering, while branches like accountancy, tourism or restaurants attract students easily.”

Hiep believes that vocational schools have no other choice than to wait. Many students who do not pass the university entrance exams may come to register.

The unattractiveness of vocational schools is explained by criticisms of old equipment and machines that do not help much in learning and practicing.

Hiep argued that it is very difficult to have all-modern equipment due to the cost. A welding machine, he estimated, is priced at one billion dong, while tuition is just five million dong per student annually.

“If vocational schools raise tuitions, they will not be able to attract students, while State support is limited,” he added.

A vocational school director in HCM City also asserted that the schools lack good information about the demands of society, so their training plans are not well-designed.

“All schools now train accountants, which has led to an abundance of accountants, while technical fields always lack workers,” he remarked.

According to Hiep, the HCM City Department for Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs will try in 2010 to find a model to connect schools and enterprises. The department will conduct survey to find out which study branches are needed. After that, it will inform the schools, so that they can draw up proper training programs.

“The department will also ask the State to increase support for vocational schools and put forward measures to increase the quality of training, otherwise, the situation will become more serious in the coming years,” Hiep surmised.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon