When university education is described as ‘second-rate goods’

VietNamNet Bridge – The number of universities in Vietnam has increased rapidly, but the training quality has not, experts say. The number of university students has increased rapidly Duong Van Sau, Tourism Culture Dean of the Hanoi Culture University, said that Vietnam has many training establishments, but the training quality cannot satisfy society’s requirements. “Too many universities have been launched into the market. Universities exist in every province. However, the training quality is problematic, thus creating ‘rubbish’ to society,” he said. Sau went on to comment that Vietnam has shifted from elite university education to universal large-scale education, which generates ‘second-rate goods’ or ‘counterfeit goods’. The mushrooming of university training establishments recently is the result of the policy on expanding higher education to increase the proportion of university students in the population.  Nguyen Ngoc Vu, director of Da Nang University, also commented that Vietnam has too many universities, but most of them are mostly small and single-disciplinary. An analyst said the mushrooming of university training establishments recently is the result of the policy on expanding higher education to increase the proportion of university students in the population.  University education was once considered ‘elite’ because universities were selective when enrolling students, and only the best could enroll at universities.  Sau from the Culture University pointed out six problems of Vietnam’s higher education. First, the system is closed, with lack of connection among education levels and training modes. In addition, the curricula are unreasonable with too much academic and no practical knowledge…. [Read full story]