Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan has vowed to strengthen examinations and inspections of universities nationwide in an effort to gradually improve the quality of tertiary education.

Speaking at the Q&A session of the National Assembly meeting on Nov. 24 on measures to raise the quality of tertiary education, Minister Luan frankly admitted shortcomings and limitations in human resource training in general and tertiary education in particular, saying that the quality of human resource training is yet to meet the demand for national development.

“There remains a gap between Vietnam and other countries in the region and the world in this field,” he said.

To overcome these shortcomings, the minister emphasised the need to train teaching staff and set up links between universities in the same system.

According to Luan, between 2006-2011, the country approved an additional 84 universities, including 33 newly established ones, with the remainder upgraded from colleges.

Concluding the Q&A session, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stressed the need to inject more investment into education and training in general and teachers and students in particular.

More attention should be paid to disadvantaged and ethnic-inhabited regions, including the southwestern, northern mountainous and central coastal areas, to ensure equity in the education and training sector, he said.

The sector should draw the participation of people from all levels, economic sectors, families and the whole political system as well as foreign resources in education and training, in order to meet human resource demand for economic development./.