Does an art school not need lecturers with PhDs or Master's degrees?
(Baonghean) - In line with the spirit of the Resolution of the 11th National Party Congress and implementing Directive 296 of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Education and Training has launched a major campaign to drastically improve the quality of higher education!
Accordingly, in 2014, the Ministry of Education and Training specifically designated 207 undergraduate programs that had to cease enrollment because they "did not meet the conditions for ensuring the quality of higher education." Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training stipulated that each undergraduate program must have at least one PhD and three Master's degree holders in the relevant field as full-time lecturers. This was a minimum requirement; in 2014, any university or program that did not meet this minimum requirement had to stop enrolling students. The Ministry of Education and Training's announcement of the list of 207 programs that had to cease enrollment in 2014 demonstrates the decisive nature of this "opening battle" and the Ministry's determination to innovate and improve the quality of higher education. In fact, the policy of reducing enrollment quotas for part-time university programs, tightening training partnerships, introducing new regulations on transfer programs, and halting enrollment in majors lacking full-time lecturers or not meeting the necessary conditions to ensure training quality... has been supported by university leaders. Universities all see this as a necessary measure, even though it may affect their own revenue.
However, some colleges and universities in the arts sector still have concerns about this policy of the Ministry. Some schools argue that arts schools have unique characteristics, focusing on talent development, and that it shouldn't be mandatory for each department to have one PhD and three Master's degree holders in its teaching staff, as is the case with other universities. Mr. Tran Thanh Hiep, Rector of the Hanoi University of Theatre and Film, said: “Many of our famous directors' teachers aren't master's or PhD holders! Many of Vietnam's Meritorious Artists and People's Artists were taught by artisans, sometimes only having completed high school, or even middle school. For the arts, teaching only book knowledge is unacceptable!”
Some people say, "Teaching art should be done by people who practice art. If we focus too much on theory and doctrine for art students, they will work like machines, and where will the artists be? Where will we find PhDs and Master's degrees in cinematography, directing, acting, and folk art performance?...” Mr. Tran Thanh Hiep asserted, “I have been at this University of Theatre and Film for the past 30 years, and there has been no, and in the next 3 years, there will not be, anyone with a PhD or Master's degree in film directing.” In short, according to the spirit of these opinions, some people and some schools believe that in art schools, the Ministry of Education and Training should not require PhDs and Master's degrees in the permanent teaching staff.
These comments have yet to receive an official response from the Ministry of Education and Training. Some researchers say: “What the Rector of the University of Theatre and Film said only proves that, until now, this school has not been training university-level students but rather a vocational school: training actors, directors, and traditional opera singers… The issue is that, starting today, the Ministry of Education and Training requires the University of Theatre and Film in particular, and art colleges and universities in general, to improve their quality from a vocational art school to a formal university-level art training institution. To achieve this, in addition to teachers who are skilled artisans teaching through apprenticeship, the school must raise the cultural level of students by establishing a complete system of highly qualified teachers, meaning ensuring that each department has at least one PhD and one Master's degree holder as full-time teachers. The Ministry of Education and Training's opinion should be understood correctly in this way!”
In our country, art schools, including the Nguyen Du School of Creative Writing, are merely places where senior writers impart their creative or performance experience, or professional expertise. They haven't focused their efforts on improving the cultural, literary, philosophical, and artistic understanding of their students. This has significantly limited the students' level of understanding and negatively impacted their ability to build a career. In contrast, art schools in the former Soviet Union, now Russia, and other countries, which also train writers, directors, and actors, have highly qualified faculty. These lecturers are not only PhDs and masters, but are actually leading experts in their respective fields.
Artists, in addition to political and social knowledge, need a strong foundation in culture, literature, philosophy, art history, the history of different artistic concepts and schools, and in-depth study of specific works. However, even the most extensive knowledge is never superfluous, nor is it sufficient to meet the demands of the creative field.
Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training's policy of raising the standard of education, requiring PhDs and Master's degrees in specialized fields in universities, and not exempting arts schools from this requirement, is entirely correct and highly commendable.
Thach Quy
