Universities will have more discretion over student enrollment procedures following a draft regulation announced by the Ministry of Education and Training last week.
Under the draft regulation, universities will be able to dictate the channels through which students can enter tertiary education programmes from next year.
The change sees a departure from the previous general enrollment plan and gives universities an option to apply one of the three channels to enroll new students, including organising university entrance exams and admitting students twice a year.
They would also co-operate with other schools to enroll students or allow them to sit the national entrance exams to be organised by the ministry.
However, Rector of Vinh University in central Nghe An province Dinh Xuan Khoa told Giao duc va Thoi dai (Education and Era) newspaper that the current enrollment model was capable of meeting his school's requirements but that new enrollment models were being assessed for improvements.
The ministry's general enrollment plan was still effective, particularly in making exam questions, he said.
Head of the Training Division of the Hanoi-based Electricity University Bui Duc Hien told Dan Tri online newspaper that his school was opting to keep the ministry's general enrollment plan.
If schools had their own entrance exam from next year, it would be difficult for students who already chose universities and spent time studying subjects for next year's general entrance exam, he said.
Some schools have said they are planning to implement their own methods to enroll students. However, there would be no changes in the enrollment mechanism in the near future.
Nguyen Minh Ngoc, a 12th grader in Hanoi's Tu Liem district, said if universities applied their own enrollment plans next year, students would not have adequate time to adapt to the changes.
Nguyen Duong, an 11th grade student in Cau Giay district, said she could not use the exam results for one university to apply for another if each university had its own enrollment plan.
Deputy Minister Bui Van Ga said at a press briefing held to announce the draft regulation that universities would prefer to select students through the current system of national university exams organised by the ministry.
Ga noted that public schools did not plan to find students, because they did not worry about the lack of students to enroll. State-owned schools were always the top choice for students, he said.
The ministry reported that 17 universities and colleges had submitted their own enrollment plans to the ministry - all of them being private schools. The draft regulation is expected to help private schools boost enrollment following complaints about the lack of students.-VNA
