Creating equal development opportunities for non-public schools

Towards equality between public and non-public higher education institutions, experts suggest that the State can invest in non-public schools if they have strong research groups, participate in training and provide human resources according to national mission requirements.

Students of Hoa Sen University study at the library. Photo: NTCC.

After 5 years of implementing university autonomy from 2019 to present, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc - Chairman of the Vietnam University Education Quality Assurance Club, recognized that the most important change in university autonomy is the orientation of university education institutions to operate according to the enterprise model. University autonomy has been like a breath of fresh air, creating motivation and promoting strong innovation in Vietnamese university education, especially innovation in the operating and governance mechanisms for public universities, but there are still difficulties and shortcomings in the implementation process. In particular, it is necessary to affirm and clearly define the role and position of the University Council with the Board of Directors. For public schools, the Chairman of the University Council is easily identified with the Party Secretary; meanwhile, for non-public schools, the Chairman of the Board of Directors is the one who plays the biggest and most important decision-making role.

Mr. Duc also proposed that the State can completely invest in non-public schools if the school has a strong research group, participates in training and provides human resources according to the requirements of the national mission.

According to Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son, in terms of policies and management mechanisms, whether public or non-public universities, they are all focusing on quality management combined with inspection, supervision, increasing autonomy, self-accountability and social responsibility. In particular, for the public university sector, priority should be given to increasing support for investment resources for development, while for the non-public university sector, priority should be given to strengthening policies to remove difficulties, create conditions, encourage development and integration with advanced universities.

Affirming the viewpoint of fair treatment between public and non-public schools, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that the non-public university sector is developing very strongly, contributing to the sector's activities in high-quality training. The system of non-public schools, especially science and technology schools, established and invested by large enterprises with good potential and facilities, has affirmed its advantages over public schools. Expressing the wish that the schools continue to develop sustainably in the future to soon become internationally influential educational institutions with higher rankings to share with the public education system, the Minister also said that he is proposing a number of preferential policies for the non-public sector, including universities, general education and preschool education, in which the important policy is land priority.

In the draft Law on Teachers, for the first time there is a legal basis for teachers in non-public educational institutions to be equal to teachers in public educational institutions in terms of identification, professional standards, basic rights and obligations of teachers and a number of policies such as training, fostering, honoring, rewarding, and handling of violations. Specifically, the subjects and scope of application of the Law on Teachers will be teachers in educational institutions in the national education system, including teachers in public educational institutions and teachers in non-public educational institutions.

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen - Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges said that with the advantage of independent finance, non-public schools have the autonomy to invest in building facilities, serving training and scientific research, attracting high-quality human resources to serve research and teaching activities. However, many schools are still facing difficulties in investing in facilities, recruiting students, etc.

“Current policies of the State and the Ministry of Education and Training have granted greater autonomy to both public and private universities. In the coming time, it is necessary to continue researching and supplementing legal bases to facilitate the development of non-public education, especially for non-profit education,” Mr. Khuyen stated.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tao-co-hoi-phat-trien-binh-dang-cho-truong-ngoai-cong-lap-10296887.html