The Ministry of Education and Training has proposed reducing the time spent on tertiary training to 3-4 years from a current 4-6 years.

This proposal has been added to a draft document on reforming the national education system which will be submitted to the government for approval soon.

The Ministry of Education and Training has proposed reducing the time spent on tertiary training to 3-4 years

The ministry said that they studied other countries before writing the draft and the vast majority offered much shorter timeframes for higher education qualifications.

According to the ministry, if the proposal is approved, training programmes will gradually be adjusted in a more practical and useful way to fit the time. Universities in Vietnam are given autonomy so can choose the way their curriculum is implemented, however, main subjects must be ensured.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga said that the ASEAN Community came into existence last year, so Vietnam needed to look at standardising its education.

At present, many universities offer bachelor’s degree after students fulfill a certain number of credits, no matter how many years they study at school. And many students can obtain a degree after three years of study, Ga said.

Associate. Prof. Van Nhu Cuong, Chairman of Luong The Vinh High School in Hanoi said that Vietnamese students had to study too many subjects, some of which should be shortened.

While it was necessary to shorten course, some subjects such as medicine couldn’t be shortened to below 5 years.

Professor Pham Tat Dong, Vice President of the Vietnam Study Promotion Association, said universities should pay greater attention to their curriculum so they fitted into 3-4 years.