Public universities lukewarm with new enrollment policy
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