VietNamNet Bridge - Low enrollment for many years has forced many vocational schools to stop operation. 

Mien Nam College, for example, has decided to stop enrolling students for its intermediate training courses, giving back tuition and applications to registered students because the number of students is not enough for it to open classes.

According to Tran Thi Ben, deputy head of the training division, the school provides 3-year training to intermediate training courses and enrolls students finishing secondary and high school. 

While the school has 14 training majors, it only received applications for two majors – civil engineering and preschool education - and only nine students have paid admission fee. Therefore, the school has decided to stop the intermediate training.

At a working session with the representative of the HCM City Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Transport Engineering School said it had been dissolved as there were not enough students. Its official website does not exist anymore.

Low enrollment for many years has forced many vocational schools to stop operation.

The HCM City Vocational College of Economics & Technology still enrolls students for both 2-year (intermediate) and 3-year training (junior college) systems, but only focuses on the latter. 

Nguyen Dang Ly, headmaster of the college, said for intermediate training courses there are many encouragement policies, including preferential tuition. 

However, it is very difficult to find students because of the short supply. Students prefer university education, believing that bachelor’s degree will allow them to find better jobs.

The headmaster of another intermediate school said the schools were dying for many reasons. Most of the schools enroll students finishing secondary school, students who are not capable to enter high school. But the number of students failing the entrance exam to high school is very modest, i.e there are very few students for intermediate schools to enroll.

As for high school graduates, they prefer going to university and junior college.

“In other words, schools can only enroll secondary school graduates, but it is difficult to train students because of the low input quality. The schools want high school graduates, but the students would rather go to university than intermediate school,” he explained.

According to Vo Phuoc Nguyen from the HCM City Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, vocational intermediate schools can enroll 60 percent of the quotas, while vocational junior colleges 80 percent. Some schools can find only a few students.

Pham Van Dai, deputy director of the Hanoi Education & Training Department, said vocational schools in the city could only find 50 percent of students needed.

Le Huyen