Investing in facilities to improve the quality of vocational schools

During the discussion session at the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly, delegate Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran (Binh Duong) pointed out the current situation of vocational training institutions that have not been invested in modern facilities and equipment, and have not been able to ensure that they are commensurate with the potential and requirements for skilled human resources. Many vocational training institutions in large urban areas do not have enough space for teaching and practice...

Students of the Lifting Machine Repair major at Ly Tu Trong College during a practice session

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY SCHOOL

In some schools, students use outdated equipment, and when they come to work at businesses, they find it completely new and unfamiliar. At that time, businesses have to spend time to retrain them.

Master PHAN THI LE THU, Vice Principal of Far East College

OUTDATED EQUIPMENT, BUSINESSES MUST RETRAIN

Regarding the state of facilities at vocational training institutions, according to Master Tran Van Tu, Principal of Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics, facilities and equipment are one of the factors that determine the quality of training, and are key factors to meet the needs of teaching and learning, practice to train skills, and equip vocational skills for learners.

However, in recent times, improving the quality of school facilities has encountered certain difficulties. In addition to a portion of the budget supporting regular expenses, the school's main source of income is tuition fees. That depends largely on enrollment. In addition, the fees for public schools are collected according to state regulations, so the collected funds also have certain limitations. "The school also has difficulty balancing the budget for facilities, equipment and other expenses for school operations," added Master Tran Van Tu.

Dr. Dinh Van De, Principal of Ly Tu Trong College, said that the school always tries to purchase materials and equipment to meet the needs of practice. Dr. De believes that in the current era of Industry 4.0 with many changes in technology and engineering, facilities are more important than ever in vocational training, especially for technical majors and occupations.

According to Ms. Phan Thi Le Thu, Vice Principal of Vien Dong College, almost every school is investing, but more important is the quality of investment in facilities, machinery and equipment. In reality, many schools invest a lot but buy outdated equipment that is not suitable for changes in society and businesses.

"In some schools, students use outdated equipment, and when they come to work at businesses, they find it completely new and unfamiliar. At that time, businesses have to spend time to retrain them," added Master Thu.

IMPROVING QUALITY TO MEET BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

At the conference to review 1 year of implementing the Joint Program on vocational orientation and education for secondary and high school students in the period of 2023 - 2025 in late September 2024, Ms. Tran Thi Dieu Thuy, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, requested that units focus on improving the quality of vocational schools, investing in colleges and intermediate schools; need to propose investment in advanced facilities, advanced vocational training equipment, focusing on the quality of teachers teaching vocational training, especially advanced professions...

At Far East College, Master Le Thu said that the unit does not invest much in equipment, but it is the most modern equipment for students to practice.

"In particular, most of the school's lecturers come from businesses. When they operate the equipment, they will feel not far away from their units. They can convey knowledge better, closer to the requirements of the business. When graduating, students can meet the needs of businesses," added the Vice Principal of Vien Dong College.

Dr. Dinh Van De said that in recent times, the unit has gradually improved the quality of facilities such as investing in equipment for departments, renovating infrastructure, completing and putting into use the Practical Technology Center, preparing the Smart Library project and the Modern Information Technology Department...

Meanwhile, at Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics, the unit always pays attention to improving the quality of facilities to meet training requirements, while approaching the realities of businesses. Thereby, training and practice at school are similar to the realities of businesses.

"Every year, the school spends about 5 - 10 billion VND to complete facilities and invest in modern equipment for practical training such as: specialized rooms for foreign language learning, accounting practice rooms, banking and finance practice rooms, logistics practice rooms, computer rooms, digital libraries...", the Principal of Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics informed.

Thu Duc College of Technology was given a car for students to practice

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY SCHOOL

STRENGTHENING BUSINESS LINKS

Along with the efforts of vocational training institutions in improving facilities to suit the current context, recently, businesses have also provided a lot of support for the units.

Dr. Dinh Van De informed that in the past time, enterprises have accompanied the school in equipping equipment and machines for practice such as: Vietnam Suzuki Company Limited donated SWIFT automobiles and V-strom motorcycles to the school; Mitsubishi Vietnam Automobile Company Limited donated Outlander cars for students to practice...

Meanwhile, at the end of October, Mitsubishi Vietnam also donated an Xpander car to Thu Duc College of Technology to serve the teaching and learning needs of lecturers and students of the Faculty of Automotive Mechanics. Dr. Pham Huu Loc, Principal of Thu Duc College of Technology, said that with the newly donated car, students of the school have modern equipment for practice to meet the training of high-quality human resources according to the needs of businesses and society.

Mr. Yanagawa Tomoki, General Director of Mitsubishi Vietnam, expressed his desire to contribute to the development of the community, especially the education of the younger generation. He hopes that the car sponsored by the company will help to consolidate the knowledge and skills of students during their studies and practice at school.

According to Master Phan Thi Le Thu, for non-public institutions, in addition to the financial resources of the unit, the school must take advantage of opportunities to connect with business associations. Thereby, businesses will support the school in training, thereby meeting the actual needs of businesses.

"The unit is regularly sponsored by businesses for facilities to ensure practice. In particular, Azurit Hansa Group (Germany) sponsored patient lifts and some medical equipment and instruments to serve the training of the medical sector," added Master Thu.

Student's wishes

Nguyen Thi Thuong, a student majoring in Business English at a college in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that during her time at the school, she found that the basic facilities met her learning needs. Due to the nature of the training program, she mostly studied in class or in the listening room.

In the future, Thuong hopes that the school will invest in more specialized classrooms with good sound equipment, high-quality TVs and projectors, "as good as a cinema" and a more spacious and comfortable learning space...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-tu-co-so-vat-chat-de-nang-chat-truong-nghe-185241113220826889.htm