Changing the university system: Should public or private schools be reduced?

The university and college system may change. However, the change in the direction of narrowing the number of public or private schools is a problem that needs careful study.

To date, Vietnam has more than 400 universities and colleges. Of these, 84 schools (60 universities and 24 colleges) are non-public.

Besides the non-public universities and colleges that operate effectively and prioritize education quality, many schools, since their establishment, have had to rent locations and invest in building facilities that are not in accordance with the school establishment plan.

Some schools have had prolonged internal conflicts and complaints that have gone beyond the level of the government, thus damaging the reputation of society and greatly affecting the quality of education. This is one of the main reasons why enrollment in non-public schools is increasingly difficult.

Encourage the operation of private non-profit universities

From the above shortcomings, at a recent conference on education, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga requested that non-public universities and colleges need to improve the quality of training. The Ministry's policy in the coming time is not to increase the number of public schools, but the Ministry of Education and Training will still consider submitting to the Prime Minister for permission to establish private universities that are properly invested, have good training quality, and operate not for profit.

With that policy, the university and college system of our country may change in the near future. However, how to change is still a matter that needs to be carefully considered to ensure the rights of learners and the quality of human resources provided to society.

Professor Tran Phuong, Principal of Hanoi University of Business and Technology, agrees with the encouragement of the non-profit private school model. It is entirely possible to change from a for-profit school to a non-profit school by giving priority to university educational institutions to rent land, exempt or reduce land use fees...

When ready to invest in the non-profit private school model, investors should accept to receive dividends not higher than the interest rate of government bonds. In addition, it is also necessary to expand the capital contribution to a large number of participating teachers (the contribution level should be reduced to 10 million VND/shareholder).

Candidates submit application for admission to universities and colleges.

How much should the public university system be reduced?

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, the rate of non-public university students in the 2015-2016 school year was 13.3% and 15 years ago (1999-2000), this figure was also 13.3%. In the past 15 years, the year with the highest rate was 13.4% (2006-2007) and the lowest was 10.6% (2013-2014).

Thus, it can be seen that, compared to the global picture, the proportion of non-public university education in Vietnam is not high. Although Vietnam has a policy to develop non-public universities, the proportion has not changed in the past 15 years.

Dr. Le Truong Tung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT University, commented that since 2006, policies on non-public university education seem to have become increasingly tightened. The main reason is probably due to social concerns about the quality of university education, instability in enrollment and in the management of some non-public schools.

The university and college system, regardless of model, needs investment from the State and private sector.

The solution proposed by Dr. Truong Tung is to privatize public schools. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training needs to quickly increase the number of schools and the level of autonomy of public schools, except for a number of key schools prioritized for development. For the remaining schools, the State will develop a roadmap to gradually reduce annual fees so that schools can gradually adapt.

If there is still the intention to develop private universities, according to the World Bank's recommendation, the most important solution is to narrow the public school system, which can be done by reducing the quota of public schools by 5% each year within 7 years to create a market for private schools.

If public and non-public universities are allowed to compete freely as they are now, especially if they are allowed to determine their own quotas, there is no other way for non-public universities to increase their proportion. The most important thing is to reduce the market share of public universities to create a wider playing field for private universities to develop.

“Currently, after 20 years of development, the system of non-public universities is in a very weak state. Public universities only need to recruit a little more students for non-public universities to run out of candidates. In my opinion, at least non-public universities must account for 30% to form a decent system that is not as decorative as it is now,” said Dr. Le Truong Tung.

Agreeing with Dr. Le Truong Tung's opinion, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of ASEAN College, further proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training only needs to apply the regulations of Circular 32 (regulations on determining enrollment quotas), not allowing public universities to recruit more, then there will be a surplus for lower levels or private schools.

With the debates surrounding the restructuring of the university and college system in the direction of expanding private schools or narrowing public schools, the most important factor is that schools must attach importance to training quality; considering the mission of training high-quality human resources for society as the prerequisite factor./.

According to VOV