Education quality and human resource training are among hot issues raised in Mar. 7's online dialogue with Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan.

Regarding the quality of human resources, citizens raised the problem that graduates were still finding it hard to find suitable jobs that utilised their skills and knowledge.

Luan said the ministry has instructed universities to adjust their training programmes to better serve the society's needs.

He added that under the draft education law, assessment of education quality would be compulsory for all universities.

Last year, the ministry inspected the operation of universities and colleges that have been established over the past 10 years and suspended enrolment in four universities found with violations.

The ministry is also inspecting 80 other universities.

In another move, the ministry encouraged educational institutions to extend their relations with businesses and other universities both inside and outside the country, in order to improve their curricula and training methods.

Concerning schools in remote and disadvantaged areas, particularly classrooms and houses for teachers, the minister said the Government decided to earmark around 1.6 trillion VND (76.8 million USD) for a programme to upgrade education facilities this year.


Luan admitted that there is still a dire shortage of pre-schools which forces parents to queue for hours in order to secure a seat for their children at public schools.


"Existing schools fail to meet the demand, particularly of people living in urban areas," he said.


He responded to questions about the plan to move a number of universities to the suburbs of Hanoi and HCM City , saying that the ministry would work with target universities and the municipal authorities on this issue.


The ministry had already established criteria for the universities that would be moved and would report to the Prime Minister and deputy Prime Ministers in the near future.


However, Luan admitted that the plan would be difficult to implement because it would require a huge investment of capital. In addition to moving universities, education facilities would have to be built in new areas and the former city locations would have to be transformed into public sites such as parks.


"This is hard math for the two cities and their governments, but we are all actively working to carry out the project," he said.-VNA