University downsizing according to a roadmap.

The Ministry of Education and Training requires universities with enrollment exceeding 15,000 students before March 31st to develop a roadmap for gradually reducing the number of full-time university students.

According to Circular 32 recently issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, universities will determine enrollment quotas based on three criteria: the student-to-lecturer ratio, the floor area per student, and the maximum number of full-time students.

Concerned about the waste of resources, the lecturer

The Ministry of Education and Training also divides the size of universities into three levels: a maximum of 5,000 students for higher education institutions in the arts; a maximum of 8,000 students for higher education institutions in the health sciences; and 15,000 students for higher education institutions in the fields of education, teacher training; business and management, law; life sciences, natural sciences; engineering, technology, agriculture, forestry and fisheries…

Instructions for candidates taking the 2015 university and college entrance exams.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga, based on the new regulations in Circular 32, 18 out of 219 universities nationwide will exceed their enrollment quotas. Specifically, the maximum enrollment capacity of the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture is 30,360 students, Hanoi University of Science and Technology 26,046 students, Hanoi University of Industry 24,429 students; and the University of Transport 21,016 students. National Economics University has 21,737 students, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology has 15,458 students, Hanoi University of Water Resources has 15,042 students, Hanoi University of Commerce has 16,045 students, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering has 18,419 students, Vinh University has 20,944 students, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology has 19,258 students, Can Tho University has 32,405 students, and Hanoi University of Business and Technology has 30,487 students.

The regulations and deadlines set by the Ministry of Education and Training have caused considerable concern among many schools. School leaders share the view that limiting the maximum student enrollment to 15,000 should be implemented according to a reasonable roadmap.

Dr. Vu Van Hoa, Vice Rector of Hanoi University of Business and Technology, believes that if this regulation is applied, a number of universities will face a surplus of facilities, and more than half of the staff and lecturers will not know what to do or how to resolve their situation.

A lecturer from Hanoi University of Commerce also expressed concern that many universities are now actively investing resources to ensure the quality of education. If the regulation limiting the number of students to 15,000 is now applied, many universities will have to reduce their size by more than 50%. This will create difficulties for universities because a large number of full-time lecturers will lose their jobs, and many construction projects, classrooms, laboratories/practical training rooms, and modern teaching equipment will go unused, resulting in significant waste. Therefore, reducing the size of universities also needs a roadmap to give them more time to calculate and adjust appropriately, avoiding causing a "shock" to the institutions.

Teachers and students from Vinh University of Technology and Education exchange ideas before the official exam begins.

"No immediate downsizing."

In response to these concerns, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga affirmed that the Ministry of Education and Training's document does not contain any content stating that good training institutions must cease operations or that institutions exceeding their capacity must immediately reduce enrollment quotas. “Previously, Circular 57 of the Ministry of Education and Training only required determining enrollment quotas based on the total number of full-time lecturers in the entire school, without differentiating by training field. This led many schools to concentrate their enrollment quotas on easily recruited or ‘hot’ majors, resulting in high student-to-lecturer ratios in these fields, affecting the quality of education. Some schools had student-to-lecturer ratios in economics reaching 50-60 students per lecturer, while engineering only had 15-20 students per lecturer; they used quotas from engineering to compensate for those in economics. Now, if we consider quotas based on criteria for each field, the scale will certainly decrease, not remaining at 15,000-17,000 as before. We will adjust naturally in this way,” Deputy Minister Bui Van Ga emphasized.

The Deputy Minister of Education and Training also added that if, after the adjustments, the size of the schools still exceeds 15,000 students, the ministry will consider solutions to address the issue rather than immediately reducing the size.

Focus on improving quality.

Explaining the adjustment of the scale of the schools, Deputy Minister Ga affirmed that it is time to focus on improving the quality of training. “Schools must stop at a reasonable scale to improve quality. Previously, we developed scale according to demand, but now we must focus on quality. Schools that have already provided good training need to do even better in the context of competition and integration. We must have schools that rank among the top-ranked schools in the world.”

According to The Laborer