Draft circular on determining enrollment targets: Some schools benefit, some schools suffer

The draft circular on determining university enrollment targets released by the Ministry of Education and Training for public comment has many new points compared to the previous circular. It has both advantages and disadvantages.

Candidates learn about admission information to Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology - Photo: XUAN DUNG

This draft circular was issued to unify the circular on standards for higher education institutions. According to many experts, most universities benefit but there are also many shortcomings.

Enrollment quota will skyrocket

According to the draft, the ratio of students/full-time lecturers is determined to be 40. This regulation does not calculate the conversion according to academic titles and degrees as before: master's degree 25, doctorate 50, associate professor 75, professor 150 students. Also according to the draft, only lecturers working full-time at the school are counted to determine the quota, guest lecturers are not counted. This is a notable new point in the draft. In addition, the draft also sets a recruitment limit of no more than 20% of the quota determined by the schools. This 20% level is considered very favorable for schools in enrollment. Previously, schools only needed to recruit 3% more than the quota to be fined, and the quota for the following year was deducted. Evaluating the new way of determining the quota, Mr. Vo Van Tuan - Vice Principal of Van Lang University - said that the quota of the schools will increase sharply. "According to the new regulations, schools with many masters will benefit, with quotas increasing. Meanwhile, schools with many PhDs may have quotas decreasing. With the low rate of lecturers with PhDs in schools, most universities will benefit from the new regulations when enrollment quotas increase. In addition, allowing schools to recruit no more than 20% more is also favorable for the schools," said Mr. Tuan. Sharing this view, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh - Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology - said that actual calculations show that the quotas of many schools may increase by 30-50% compared to 2024 if the new regulations are applied. About 70% of lecturers in many universities have master's degrees, so with the increase from 25 to 40 students/lecturer, the quota has increased 1.6 times. Along with being allowed to recruit no more than 20% more than the determined quota, the actual number of recruitment of many schools will be much higher than in 2024. This is also the opinion of representatives of many universities such as Polytechnic, Economics - Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade when they said that the new regulation is beneficial for schools when determining quotas. Mr. Thai Doan Thanh - Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade - said that basically, the new regulation is beneficial for schools with many master's degrees when the quota will increase.

"Professors, associate professors, doctors and masters are also included in the quotas according to the new regulations. Because the number of lecturers with master's degrees accounts for the majority, the quotas will naturally increase. The regulation allowing 20% ​​more recruitment also reduces the situation where schools are afraid of over-recruiting," Mr. Thanh added.

Many worries

In addition to the advantages, many universities are also worried about the shortcomings of the new regulations, which will hinder enrollment and staff development. Mr. Bui Hoai Thang - Head of Training Department of the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that the regulations in the draft lead to irregularities in the system. Schools with a large number of normal lecturers and masters have increased quotas, while schools with many lecturers with academic titles and doctoral degrees have reduced quotas. "More than 65% of lecturers at the University of Technology have doctoral degrees. The school's quotas will also be affected. In addition, some lecturers who specialize in teaching practice are not counted when determining quotas. These are people with high professional skills, specializing in teaching practice in the fields of engineering and medicine. In the medical field, there are regulations recognizing them as lecturers, while in other fields, there are no regulations. That is unreasonable," said Mr. Thang. Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Dinh Duc Anh Vu - Vice Principal of International University (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that the proportion of lecturers with doctoral degrees at the school is currently about 70%. According to the new regulations of the draft, the school's quota will decrease. Similarly, Mr. Cu Xuan Tien - Head of Admissions and Student Affairs Department of University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that the new regulation could affect the improvement of university lecturers' qualifications. The more lecturers a school has who are professors, associate professors, and doctors, the more it will lose when determining quotas when they are greatly reduced. In addition, the quota for joint programs is determined in the total quota but guest lecturers are not counted, causing difficulties for the school. "The program, lecturers, and degrees are coordinated and awarded by foreign partners. Lecturers are sent by partner schools to teach for a certain period of time. If they work full-time, they must stay in Vietnam and apply for a work permit. It is worth mentioning that applying for a work permit for foreign experts and lecturers is very difficult and time-consuming. Therefore, there should be a separate mechanism for lecturers with joint programs" - Mr. Tien proposed. Although the new regulation has many advantages, representatives of some schools also expressed concern when the recruitment source is exhausted. Mr. Vo Van Tuan analyzed: when the quota of most schools increases, plus the recruitment is over 20%, the total number of recruitments of top and middle schools will be very large. In addition, Mr. Tuan also suggested that it is necessary to consider researchers when determining the quota. Currently, researchers both research and teach, but they are not considered when determining the quota. According to Mr. Tuan, it is possible to not calculate the coefficient of 40 like lecturers but it can be calculated at 20-30.

Quality assurance required

Regarding the correlation of targets, facilities, and teaching staff, Mr. Thai Doan Thanh said that if the new regulation is applied, the school's targets will certainly increase. However, the school calculates an appropriate increase to ensure quality. "The capacity of the school's teaching staff is not a problem, but the school must calculate the quality problem along with learning places, practice and experimental equipment. Therefore, if the target increases, it must be at a harmonious level, ensuring quality, not increasing to the ceiling" - Mr. Thanh said. Source: https://tuoitre.vn/du-thao-thong-tu-xac-dinh-chi-tieu-tuyen-sinh-truong-duoc-loi-truong-thiet-thoi-20241205101009785.htm