Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son chaired a discussion to collect comments on the draft planning for the network of higher education and pedagogical institutions.

Associate Professor Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education and Training, said that currently, the country has 103 teacher training establishments including 15 pedagogical universities; 50 universities with many majors and special universities providing four-year academic programs. Moreover, the country also has 20 pedagogical colleges; and 18 multidisciplinary colleges providing teacher training in three-year programs.

It is expected that by 2030, the country will have about 50 higher education institutions participating in training teachers at all levels. The Ministry of Education and Training plans that all teachers will be trained in pedagogical universities and multidisciplinary higher education institutions with teacher training majors including teachers for preschools and junior high schools.

Speaking at the seminar, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, Vice Principal of the Central Pedagogical College, said that the country currently lacks about 51,000 preschool teachers. According to her, if preschool teachers were trained in pedagogical universities, it would be a waste. Therefore, she proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training should keep three colleges under the Ministry of Education and Training including Central Pedagogical College, Nha Trang Central Pedagogical College, and Ho Chi Minh City Central Pedagogical College for training preschool teachers.

In addition, the draft report on planning the network of higher education and pedagogical institutions for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 of the Ministry of Education and Training also clearly states that the development of the network of higher education institutions will basically maintain stability in quantity and structure with a focus on strengthening capacity, improving quality and expanding scale. National key higher education institutions by 2030 include five national universities, 5 universities in regions, and 18-20 national key higher education institutions. These leading institutions will provide training for undergraduate, master and Ph.D. with the proportion of 30 percent, 60 percent, and 80 percent.

By 2030, the education sector will develop three more national universities comprising Hue University, Da Nang University and Hanoi Polytechnic University so that they join with Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University to become the leading universities in Asia. The sector also plans for the development of four more regional universities such as Vinh University, Nha Trang University, Tay Nguyen University and Can Tho University in 2030 to join Thai Nguyen University in becoming prestigious universities in the region and the world.

Source: SGGP