Several private universities have been enrolling international full-time or exchange students and, recently, 12% of all Vietnamese students graduated from private schools, the highest share so far (Table 3) [4].
Number of lecturers: in 2017-2018, there were 74,991 university lecturers in Vietnam, 15,759, 21.01%, worked in private universities, up from previous years (Table 4). The number of PhDs lecturers was 3,195, or 15.82% of the total [4].
Table 4: Number of university lecturers from 2013–2014 to 2017–2018
|
Academic year
|
Number of lecturers
|
|
total
|
public universities
|
private universities
|
percentage at private universities
|
|
2013-2014
|
65.206
|
52.500
|
12.706
|
19.49%
|
|
2014-2015
|
65.664
|
52.689
|
12.975
|
19.76%
|
|
2015-2016
|
69.591
|
55.401
|
14.190
|
20.39%
|
|
2016-2017
|
72.792
|
57.634
|
15.158
|
20.82%
|
|
2017-2018
|
74.991
|
59.232
|
15.759
|
21.01%
|
Several private universities recruited foreign lecturers for teaching and research.
Education
Private universities now offer a large variety of majors, even ones that require a large investment in both manpower and capital, such as Health Sciences.
In 2013, Duy Tan University became the first private university in Vietnam to offer PhD programs. Education at private universities is of relatively high-quality, with over 80% of graduates finding employment within a year of graduation, in some up to 97% [2].
Private universities are especially strong in their ability to flexibly develop and modify their curricula, according to the latest career preferences and requirements. They all focus on relationships with business and on international partnerships, at graduate and postgraduate levels, which have been successfully implemented at several private universities, in contrast to public ones.
Scientific research
Success in scientific research at private universities has been rated only good [2]. However, a few private universities have led the way, such as DTU, with 840 international publications, from a total of 1,264 in 2018-2019) [5]. DTU has been ranked fifth in research activities in Vietnam in the 2019 Nature Index [6].
FPT University also won the Sao Khue award in 2011 and Lac Hong University had outstanding success in the regional Asia-Pacific Robocon contest.
The DTU Institute for Research and Development
Facilities: The Ministry of Education and Training currently assesses the facilities at private universities as good. Many of them have spacious, modern campuses, sometimes built to rigorous international standards [2].
These can all be seen as strong advantages at private universities when attracting, hiring or enrolling high-quality lecturers and students.
Quality accreditation: 18 out of the 123 private universities have undergone external quality assessments. Seven academic programs at two private universities meet international standards, according to the latest information from the Ministry of Education and Training [7]).
From the above data, it can be seen that during 25 years of development, private universities have contributed to the increase in educational capacity and, at the same time, made important contributions to international integration.
Private universities offer alternative choices, by tailoring of the latest, most sought-after courses to meet student requirements. They have awarded thousands of university degrees, allowing graduates to actively participate in Vietnam’s industrialization, modernization and security, meanwhile contributing a major boost to the country’s financial educational investment. Private universities provide employment for tens of thousands and contribute hundreds of billions of VND to the state budget. In 2016, that contribution amounted to 111 billion VND, from only 43 private universities [2].)
The Vietnamese private university network is becoming ever more developed and has affirmed its indispensable role in national university education. Successful Party policies and guidelines have led to the development of private universities in Vietnam to meet current country requirements. Government, the Ministry of Education and Training, local authorities and other agencies and organizations have supported the new University Education Law to form a solid legal framework for the development of a network of private universities
With a passion for education, prestigious academics, scientists and managers founded, built and developed private universities, with the support of staff, lecturers and employees.
The development of Vietnamese private universities is still limited, however, for several reasons. However, the network is still developing strongly, making an international university education a reality in Vietnam.
Investors with considerable capital resources have been investing in almost all private universities, including some who were initially struggling to enroll students. Many Vietnamese private universities are determined to soon be ranked amongst the best in ASEAN and the world. This demonstrates the great potential of the Vietnamese private university network.
Reference:
[1] //giaoduc.net.vn/giao-duc-24h/giai-phap-phat-trien-he-thong-cac-truong-dai-hoc-tu-thuc-viet-nam-post189878.gd
[2] B? Giáo d?c và Ðào t?o (2017), Báo cáo t?ng h?p k?t qu? nghiên c?u các tru?ng d?i h?c ngoài công l?p, Tp. H? Chí Minh.
[3] B? Giáo d?c và Ðào t?o (2018), Tài li?u H?i ngh? Ch? t?ch H?i d?ng tru?ng, Hi?u tru?ng các co s? giáo d?c d?i h?c và tru?ng su ph?m nam 2018, Hà N?i.
[4] //www.moet.gov.vn/thong-ke/Pages/thong-ke.aspx
[5] //thanhnien.vn/giao-duc/dai-hoc-duy-tan-840-cong-bo-quoc-te-trong-nam-hoc-2018-2019-1100491.html
[6]//tuoitre.vn/cac-dai-hoc-viet-nam-tren-bang-xep-hang-nature-index-2019-2019100114244387.htm
[7] //moet.gov.vn/giaoducquocdan/khao-thi-va-kiem-dinh-chat-luong-giao-duc/Pages/Default.aspx?ItemID=6233
By.Dr Tran Van Hung (Duy Tan University)
(Media Center)