VietNamNet Bridge - Only 40 percent of university students understand what they should do in school to obtain high results and find good jobs, a survey has found.

Only 40 percent of university students understand what they should do in school

A research team headed by Nguyen Dang Minh from Hanoi National University recently announced the results of its study on students’ psychology and readiness in learning and training.

The survey of 300 university students and graduates from 1-3 years ago was conducted through questionnaires. The students were from 50 universities throughout the country.

The surveyors also had in-depth interviews with administrators, senior managers and education experts at 10 universities and managers at 20 enterprises about the qualifications of new graduates.

Many students are not aware of the importance of attending classes and doing home exercises, as well as the method to do these in the most effective way. 

When asked about the issue, only 60 percent of students said the activities are significant, while 40 percent said the time spent on classes and on doing home exercises was not as important.

Regarding research, only 19 percent of students could show they understood the significance of scientific research. The most common answer was that research is not a compulsory curricular activity and students only have to do this when they are requested by schools or lecturers. Some students even said this is a complex and time consuming activity.

The survey also found that students follow each other in participating in extracurricular and social activities. Students want to spend more time on extracurricular activities than on scientific research. 

Most students only listed the activities they had participated in, and did not show the way they approached the activities to obtain useful knowledge and skills.

Up to 80 percent of students realized the importance of learning about careers which they wanted to pursue in the future. 

However, only 47 percent of students said they need to do this. 78 percent of students found it necessary to attend training courses on soft skills, such as presentation skills, sale skills and teamwork skills, while only 22 percent thought they needed to practice specific skills suited to their future jobs.

Some human resources experts, when interviewing new graduates, found that students only like to learn about marketing and finance, while they have no interest in macroeconomy, microeconomy and laws, saying that the subjects are not necessary and useless for their future jobs.

In general, university graduates still cannot satisfy the requirements of employers. Some foreign invested enterprises in Vietnam said the capability of solving problems and professional tasks are below the average level and that high spending on education was being wasted.

RELATED NEWS

Students battle for high school spots

Students prepare for this year’s tough high school entrance exams