Though Vietnam lacks medical staff, experts repeatedly have asked MOET to tighten control over the training of physicians because they believe this is a special major which needs students with high abilities and schools with good facilities and teaching staff.

Vu Van Hoa, vice president of the school, on November 25 told the press that the school already has facilities and teaching staff for the new training major.

“The deans are leaders in their fields. The lecturers all have deep knowledge and several years of experience. They were once the lecturers at the Hanoi Medical University and worked for large hospitals in Hanoi,” Hoa said.

“MOET and the Ministry of Health (MOH) have checked the list of lecturers carefully,” he said, adding that it took the school three years to prepare good conditions for the training and it has just received the license after it proving it has the capability in to provide a medical training major.

The Hanoi Business and Technology has support from both state management agencies – MOET as the watchdog agency of training establishments and MOH as the watchdog agency of healthcare establishments.

In an official letter to the school dated November 17, MOH stated it supports the school’s decision to establish medical and pharmaceutical faculties.

Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, acting director of the MOET’s University Education Department, said the ministry only granted the license after thorough consideration.

Phung said MOET was always cautious when licensing medical schools because it understands that this is a specific training major.

The Hanoi Business and Technology University asked for permission to set up the two new training majors two years ago. However, at that time, MOET did not consider the case because it did not encourage the medical training major at disciplinary schools. MOET only considered the application recently. 

Nevertheless, despite the affirmation by both the school and state management agencies, experts still doubt the capability of the school.

Dr. Vo Xuan Son, director of EXSON, a medical center in HCM City, said: “I am very worried that the Hanoi Business and Technology University can also train medical students.” 

Son said medical training can be done not only by state-owned schools. “I will support the idea of privatizing the training. But it must not be the Hanoi Business and Technology University,” he said.

Van Chung