VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Hanh Anh Thu of Dong Nai Province decided to apply to the HCM City University of Science's Environment Faculty after she and her classmates received advice from experts during the Student Enrollment Day event held on Saturday.

Student Enrollment Day participants discuss faculties and institutions in HCM City on Saturday. (Photo: VNS)

She had learnt about the Student Enrollment Day through the Internet and called on her classmates to participate in the event, Thu said.

Thai Vo Ngoc Thao, a 12th grader with the Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School in District 3, asked her parents to attend the event and collect information for her because she was busy attending school.

Thai Van Binh, Thao's father, said that her intention was to study pharmacology at the city's University Medical Centre. However, she also wanted to look for information about other universities, Binh said.

He went to booths of the University Medical Centre, Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University, the Medical Centre under the HCM City Viet Nam National University, the Medical University in Binh Duong as well as other universities, collecting brochures not only for his daughter but also for friends living in Tay Ninh Province.

And "my wife sat in the area for career orientation and listened to answers from consultants in order to understand issues and give the best advice to our daughter," Binh said.

Students' need for academic and career counseling was very high, he said, adding that events like the Student Enrollment Day were very useful and should be held in many provinces.

His neighbours, who have children studying in Grade 12, had very little information on the different faculties in many universities, and what they knew was gained from the enrollment books that list the criteria and availability for different courses, Binh said.

They did not have the opportunity to directly contact universities and receive the best advice, he added.

The Student Enrollment Day is held every year by the Ministry of Education and Training, the city's Department of Education and Training and the HCM City University of Technology in co-operation with the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

This year, it will be organised in 16 provinces and localities across the country, from Ha Noi in the north to the southernmost province of Ca Mau, including some in the Central Highlands and several island districts.

At Saturday's opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga said that the right choice of faculty would help students learn better and ensure development of the nation's human resources.

However, it was difficult to choose the faculty that matches the students' interests and capacities without help from parents and teachers, Ga said.

Dr Le Thi Thanh Mai of the Viet Nam National University told the Phu Nu (Women) newspaper that she had conducted a study among university freshmen and found more than 50 per cent did not like their current faculty and nearly 67 per cent did not have sufficient information about other faculties in their universities and other institutions.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy head of the HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information, said students should consider their capacities, interests, career prospects and related issues including information on universities before choosing their faculty and university. This would help avoid considerable wastage of time and money, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News