The number of
university students, who follow advanced training programs, has been decreasing
year after year. The training costs are 10 times higher than the costs of normal
programs.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan meets students of the HCM City University for Natural Sciences

The
information was released by Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van
Ga at the working session between Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan and
the University for Natural Sciences under the HCM City National University
on the advanced training programs on April 5.

According
to Ga, the tuition for a student of the “advanced programs” is 10 times higher
than the cost for normal programs. Meanwhile, according to Dr Nguyen Duc Nghia,
Deputy Director of the HCM City National University, the training cost for a
student of the “advanced training programs” may be up to 160 million dong a
year, or eight times higher than the cost for student of the “talented bachelor
programs”, about 20 million dong a year.

“If the
State does not continue supporting the advanced training program, it will die
with such a high tuition level,” Nghia said. “The State should support
universities to maintain the programs, while schools will have to make every
effort to develop the programs”.

Associate
Professor Duong Ai Phuong, President of the HCM City University for Natural Sciences, said
that schools have to filter students to choose the best for the advanced
programs, therefore, it is difficult to choose students for the programs.
Meanwhile, many excellent students, who are eligible for the advanced programs,
do not have financial capability to participate in the programs.

“It is
worth of thinking if advanced programs do not have many excellent students,”
Phuong said.

Meanwhile,
Professor Duong Nguyen Vu, who has been teaching information technology since
the first days of the advanced program, has suggested that the Ministry of
Education and Training should think about the “output” for students of the
advanced programs.

In general,
students of the programs, after finishing universities, want to continue
studying rather than begin working. Besides, Vu has urged the Ministries of
Finance, and Education and Training to create most favorable conditions for
students to borrow money to follow their studies, because many excellent
students come from unfortunate families.

Students
also complained that they have many difficulties when participating in advanced
programs. They proposed the Deputy Prime Minister apply a preferential policy
on the students of the advanced programs, under which they can borrow more
money that the currently applied level of eight million dong a year.

The Deputy
Prime Minister said that the state props up 60 percent of the total expenses of
the advanced programs, while students pay 25 percent and schools 15 percent.
Though the tuition levels are different in different schools and localities,
the average tuition is 20-30 million dong a year, which is unaffordable for
many students.

According
to the Ministry of Finance, it is necessary to mobilize capital from different
sectors in society for the development of advanced programs which will provide
high quality workers to enterprises. Businessmen should join forces with
schools to build up reasonable curriculums.

There are
now 23 universities that are providing 35 advanced programs, and have a total
of 1000 students. However, the number of students has been decreasing step by
step. In 2006, when the advanced programs were kicked off, the University for
Natural Sciences enrolled 55 students, but now there are only 36. The second
training course enrolled 49, but there are only 33 now. The third, fourth and
fifth training courses gathered 33, 34 and 25 students.

C. V