Know when to let go if you don't have enough resources.

According to the draft of the Master Plan for the network of higher education and pedagogical institutions for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, which the Ministry of Education and Training is collecting opinions to complete, the current advantages and disadvantages of the system have been pointed out, from which a list of priority investment programs and projects is proposed to strengthen the system. Notably, the proposal on the orientation of arranging and developing public universities in the period up to 2030 is worth noting.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the current state of the higher education network stems from the old planning perspective, from the approach based on indicators of quantity and space without focusing on the use of quality assurance tools for planning. Information on the labor market and the competition mechanism on quality and brand have not been collected as the main basis for adjusting the number of training institutions and the structure of occupations in accordance with human resource needs. Policies have not been put forward to manage planning, including monitoring quality assurance conditions and assessing the development of the network compared to the needs of the labor market.

This has led to a situation where some higher education institutions have been newly established or upgraded quickly, while not being monitored for quality assurance conditions; and the implementation of the planning has not been regularly inspected, urged and evaluated to make timely adjustments. The implementation after the planning lacks readiness in terms of land, investment capital, human resources, mechanisms, policies, etc., so some schools after being upgraded operate mainly based on the available facilities, teaching staff and management staff or have additional investment but not significantly.

Not to mention the pressure to open schools from localities across the country, leading to a situation of scattered planning, not providing enough resources for a number of higher education institutions or key fields and industries to invest in development to approach regional and world levels.

Based on the current situation, the Ministry of Education and Training proposes to consolidate and rearrange universities that do not meet higher education institution standards according to three options. One is to restructure and focus on investment to meet standards within a 3-5 year roadmap. Two is to merge to become a training unit or a branch of a reputable higher education institution. Three is to suspend training activities before 2028 and dissolve before 2030.

Of these, option 1 seems to be the most difficult to implement, because it involves two factors: land and money. Both of these factors are closely related, and importantly, they depend on the investment perspective: is the university viewed as a place to make a profit, or as an investment in human resources, that is, an investment in the future?

If investment in higher education is considered an investment for the future, the governing bodies of public universities need to consider investment in universities as a "big game".

If you don't have enough strength, you need to know how to "let go" so as not to hinder the development of the system.

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