Conclusion of the review of the Professor's profile by Minister Tien

Immediately after the State Council for Professor Titles announced the list of qualified candidates in 2017, public opinion questioned whether Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien was qualified when she spent time on management and could not participate in teaching?

In response to the above question, Professor Pham Gia Khanh, Chairman of the Council of Professors in the Health sector, said that Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien is one of 19 people whose records of recognition of the title of professor are being reviewed. Those are the people who are being complained about, who are lecturers who are also in charge of management units, ministers, deputy ministers, etc.

According to Mr. Pham Gia Khanh, the criteria Ms. Tien has achieved are: training 3 PhDs, 4 Masters degrees and is currently training 3 PhD students, participating in teaching at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, concurrently chairing 2 departments, teaching at the National Institute of Nutrition. Ms. Tien also has 2 monographs, 3 textbooks, 3 reference books and 2 manuals; has 91 scientific articles, 14 articles published in international ISI journals, a high total conversion score (34.38). At the same time, Ms. Tien presided over 2 State-level topics, the number of accepted ministerial-level topics is 6, and 15 grassroots-level topics.

In addition, Ms. Tien participated in 2 terms of guest teaching at Oxford University (UK) and was awarded the title of visiting professor by Oxford University for the first time for a 3-year term in 2010. And the second time in March 2017, for the period from 2016-2021. Regarding scientific research, Minister Tien was awarded the French Legion of Honor. In addition, Ms. Tien was also awarded the title of People's Physician.

Mr. Khanh affirmed that these criteria are sufficient to recognize the title of Professor of Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.

Along with Ms. Tien, the 18 people proposed for review all meet the criteria for recognition of the title of Professor.

The story of reviewing professors and associate professors is receiving public attention after the State Council for Professor Titles announced the list of qualified candidates in 2017 with a sudden increase in the number. Public opinion is concerned that the quality of professors and associate professors is not guaranteed, with the "sweeping train" before regulation 174 expires.

Previously, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, former Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training, expressed his opinion that officials in general, and ministers in particular, should not be professors or associate professors. This title should only be reserved for those who teach at universities. The trend in the world is that there is no such thing as officials or ministers being professors, because their main job is administration and policy. "When officials are associated with professors, no matter how they explain, it shows their greed for fame," said Mr. Khuyen.