Twenty-three universities participating in the pilot programme were allowed to open new faculties, hire personnel and conduct scientific research, the survey found, as reported in Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper.

Among other actions, the universities reduced the number of people indirectly related to training, increased the number of lecturers, and hired better qualified teachers.

As of July, the number of lecturers added at the 23 participating universities accounted for 63 percent of the total number of personnel at the schools.

Fourteen of the universities have set up an administrative council to help them operate more effectively, and also increased their budget allocations to buy more equipment and build more facilities for training.

The average income for each lecturer at the universities is twice what it was compared to the past.

Rector of the Hanoi-based National Economics University Tran Tho Dat, told Thoi Bao Tai Chinh Viet Nam (Vietnam Financial Times) that the university has had autonomy since 2015.

With autonomy, the university has opened new faculties to meet the demand of the labour market; has applied IT in management and training; and has set up high-quality advanced training programmes.

The Centre for Education Accreditation at Vietnam National University Hanoi has also assessed the quality of the university, Dat said. Several of its training programmes will be assessed by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programmes.

The university also has more financial resources for operations and facilities for professional training, he added.

However, educational experts said that the Law on Higher Education should have more detailed regulations about autonomy at universities.

Le Truong Tung, chairman of FPT University, said that a clear legislative framework should be created for universities. Inspections and monitoring should be carried out frequently to ensure effectiveness, he added.

Le Viet Khuyen, former deputy head of Tertiary Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, said that autonomy could be implemented in a variety of ways.

Survey conductors suggested that the pilot programme for autonomy should be continued and that autonomy should be officially given to these universities.

VNA