The seminar, titled “Autonomy in Higher Education: Experiences from Europe and Southeast Asia,” drew officials from universities in Germany, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand along with members of VNU-HCMC’s governing board.
While the Ministry of Education and Training controls and decides almost everything – from testing and exam regulations to curricula and contents – little room is left for institutions to progress, some participants at the seminar said.
However, Vu Thi Phuong Anh, director of VNU-HCMC’s Center for Educational Testing and Quality Assessment, said Vietnamese institutions haven’t proven that they are strong enough for self-governing.
She said the function of MoET is somewhat like the university administration at the national level.
Le Quang Minh, vice president of VNU-HCMC, said though Vietnam has implemented an open door policy since the 1990s, reforms in higher education have been very slow.
Few universities in Vietnam understand the importance of having advisory groups or establishing university councils, Minh said.
According to professor Peter Mayer, former vice president and dean at the University of Applied Sciences in Osnabreueck, Germany, European universities are moving toward having less state influence, allowing them to encourage other stakeholders, such as businesses and industries, to participate in the institutions’ decision making process.
“We have to understand that universities aren’t exclusive entities,” he said. “It’s critical that we involve industries and the student body in deciding their study problems.”
Reported by Huong Le |
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