Apr 24, 2012

Vietnam - HCMC university group halts honors programs


The Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) that comprises leading tertiary schools in southern Vietnam has decided not to admit new students to its honors programs at five member universities for the next school year starting September.

The bloc wants to review the effectiveness of the programs, which have been run in the past ten years, and seek new funding for their expected resumption one school year later, according to Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia, its vice director.

Nghia rejects rumours that VNU-HCM will stop the programs for good, and asserts it would merely shrink them in the case of too much financial difficulty.

The university group needs a hiatus to work out an improvement plan for the programs, says Dr Nguyen Quoc Chinh, vice chief of the undergraduate and graduate board.

“We will soon ask our member universities to submit their detailed schemes related to the use of financial sources and the future of the programs, before resuming them.”

The honors programs are now available at five of VNU-HCM’s seven member universities. The five are the University of Science, University of Technology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Economics and Law, and University of Information Technology.

They are intended to produce a skilled workforce for the labour market and highly qualified staff for higher education institutions.

Students who have passed the national university entrance exams – Vietnam’s screening tests to select students for higher education – with high scores will have to go through a demanding selection process before being admitted to the programs.

Graduates of these programs will be given high priority when it comes to overseas study using state funds or they may be granted automatic admission to graduate courses at their schools.

The honors programs have proved very appealing to VNU-HCM students, Dr Nguyen Kim Quang, academic affairs chief at the University of Science, says.

The halt, though temporary, is a real pity, Dr Quang says.

They should be resumed as soon as possible, as the honors programs have been run pretty successfully so far, according to Tran Tinh Duc, vice chief of academic affairs at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

These high-quality courses have been the main supply of lecturers for the school since their inception, Duc adds.

But many insiders, including students and lecturers, complain the programs have not been so successful while students have been forced to learn too much.

Theory still prevails over practice in these programs whereas not enough attention has been given to the teaching materials and job opportunities for graduates, they moan.

TUOI TRE



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