VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has turned the green light on allowing universities in special difficult areas to lower the requirements on candidates to be able to find more students. However, the concession still cannot help.

The Cuu Long People-founded University in Vinh Long province is one of the schools which can enjoy the special enrolment mechanism. It can enroll the students who have the university entrance exam marks lower by one mark than the floor marks stipulated by MOET for different exam groups.

The floor marks are the minimum marks students must have from the university entrance exams in order to be admitted to any universities in Vietnam. However, with the new regulation, the students in difficult areas would be exceptionally enrolled in universities even though they do not have the required floor marks.

Cuu Long has reported that 23 new students have come to register their study at the school since the day the new regulation was applied.

The school plans to enroll 3000 students this academic year, but it has only found 1/3 of the sum.

“The new regulation still cannot save us. I really do not know where the students are,” said Nguyen Cao Dat, President of the Cuu Long University.

Dat said that the school found enough students last year, and the current terrible situation was unforeseeable. “I have heard that a school in the central region could find 50 students so far,” he said.

Phan Van Thom, Deputy President of the Tay Do University in the west of the southern region, said the school has received some more registrations, but the number of students remains modest. Some 20-30 students have come to register study, but the number includes the students registering for both university (4-year training) and junior college (3-year) training courses.

Thom said that the same problem is occurring with many other schools as well, predicting that the schools would still lack learners despite the attempt by MOET to bring more candidates to schools.

In the northern region, the Thai Nguyen University still lacks 3000 learners for university training and 1000 students for junior college training. The Tay Bac University needs 300 students more, while the Xuan Mai Forestry University has also reportedly not found enough students,

The noteworthy thing is that the above said schools are all state owned schools which students would prefer to people founded schools.

Hoang Xuan Quang, Deputy President of the An Giang University, said that the MOET’s new regulation is just a compromise made in the context of the schools’ big difficulties.

Quang said many private schools have found 20 percent of students so far, while the Tien Giang University, a state owned school, has found 50 percent of the number of students needed.

Schools have laid the blame on MOET’s shoulders, saying that the ministry licensed too many universities, but do not bring students to the schools.

Dat has noted that MOET might not understand the situation and the students’ quality this year, therefore, it has set up overly high requirements, thus keeping a lot of students away.

Also according to Dat, since MOET does not set enrolment quotas, state owned schools tend to enroll more students this year. Therefore, they have attracted all potential students already, leaving no more students for private schools.

“I wish that MOET next year can set reasonable floor marks so as to ensure enough students for schools,” Quang said, adding that it would be better to remove the floor mark mechanism.

“MOET has licensed schools, but it has also set barriers to restrict students,” he noted.

Tien Phong