VietNamNet Bridge - The junior colleges under the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) are facing difficulties in the 2017 enrollment season. 

They must register vocational education activities to be able to enroll students for the 2017-2018 academic year.

High school students began registering to attend the national high school finals and apply for universities (4-5 year training) and junior colleges (3-year training) on April 1. 

However, students cannot apply for junior colleges, except pedagogical schools, because there has been no registration code.

Luu Duc Tien, principal of Van Xuan Economics & Technology Junior College, said in  previous years, when junior colleges were put under MOET’s control, the information about schools reached students at the time they began making applications. 

However, as junior colleges are now under control of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the information about junior colleges has disappeared from the information system. As a result, he has to hire workers to deliver leaflets and brochures to students.

As junior colleges are now under control of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the information about junior colleges has disappeared from the information system. As a result, he has to hire workers to deliver leaflets and brochures to students.

Tran Manh Thanh, vice principal of the Bach Viet Junior College, said MOLISA’s Vocational Training General Directorate has published a book on the enrollment for intermediate schools (2-year training) and vocational junior colleges in 2017. However, the book doesn’t have sufficient information. 

One can find information about two-thirds of junior colleges in the book, which cannot reach students. Only those interested in junior colleges try to contact schools and ask information through different channels.

Thanh said Bach Viet has to spend hundreds of millions of dong to print leaflets to deliver to students, which is the only communication channel with students.

The principal of a junior college in HCMC said the information about his school was found in the book ‘Things to know about the enrollment of universities and junior colleges’ published by MOET. 

However, junior colleges cannot be found in this year’s book.

According to MOLISA, there were 2,003 vocational training establishments by the end of 2016, including 387 junior colleges, 582 intermediate schools and 1,034 vocational centers.

In 2016, vocational schools enrolled 2.3 million students, while in 2017, MOLISA plans to enroll 2.2 million.

At the conference about the enrollment plan in 2017, the representatives of many intermediate schools and junior colleges expressed their concern that the schools may not be able to find enough students while universities now open their doors widely to students. 

Meanwhile, intermediate schools and junior colleges still have to wait for documents guiding enrollment to be released by MOLISA, their current governing body.

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