The figures were released by Prof Tran Van Nhung, secretary general of the State Professorship Title Council, at a professor/associate professor appointment ceremony held at a university.

According to Nhung, in 1960, Vietnam had 29 professors, including 14 in medicine and 15 in science & technology. 

To date, 1,600 individuals have been awarded the professor title. Of these, many have passed away or retired. Only 200-300 professors are still working and doing research.

Nhung said the number of Chinese professors per 10,000 is eight times higher than Vietnam, and in Germany three times higher.

Prof Dang Ung Van, chair of the Chemistry Professorship Sub-committee, is concerned about the released figures. There are 29 branch professorship sub-committees, which means that each branch has fewer than 10 professors still doing research.

Van thinks that retired professors/associate professors are not doing research because they cannot get funding.

“I believe that the most fully fit time for someone to do research in chemistry is when they are 45-60 years old,” he said.

According to Pham Tat Dong, former head of the Central Propaganda Committee, there is no relation between the low proportion of professors/associate professors doing research and the appointment of professors/associate professors at an older age.

The problem is that Vietnam gives the professor/associate professor titles to many people who do not conduct research, but are only managerial officers.

“Many people have professor/associate professor titles, though they are not university lecturers or researchers,” he said.

Dong mentioned the working conditions of professors/associate professors in Vietnam, which is an obstacle. In other countries, professors are sometimes assigned research projects by the state. They have offices, labs and collaborators to carry out research. In Vietnam, professors have to bid for projects. 

Vietnamese university lecturers with professorship titles have problems when arranging their time. As they have many lecture hours, they don’t have time for research.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), in the 2016-2017 academic year, universities in Vietnam had a total of 72,792 lecturers, an increase of 4.6 percent over the previous year, 574 professors, and 4,113 associate professors.

In Vietnam, only the State Professorship Council  has the right to recognize someone as qualified for the professor or associate professor title. It has 31 members from 31 disciplines.

RELATED NEWS

Vietnam’s academic research relies heavily on foreign cooperation

Vietnam to upgrade professor quality by requiring more ISI articles

Chi Mai