This document discusses higher education in Vietnam and outlines challenges and strategies to improve it by 2020. It notes that Vietnam has over 500 universities and colleges, training over 200 students per 100,000 people. Challenges include graduates lacking skills for the job market, weak research commercialization, and inadequate faculty quality. Strategies include reforming finance, programs, collaboration with industry, and quality assurance. After 10 years of implementation, results include a national quality framework, credit transfer systems, and investment in infrastructure and quality culture.

1. HIGHER EDUCATION IN
VIETNAM
- CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES TO 2020
The Department of Higher Education
The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam

2. GENERAL INFORMATION
■ About 500 universities/ colleges
■ 28 universities training in Medical and Nursing program
■ and 65 colleges - nursing program
■ Schedule: 3 years for college program and 4 to 5 years
for diploma program or 6 years for MD program
■ Before 2012: all programs following specialized
framework program (fix 40%)
■ Medical and Nursing programs continue following MD,
Nursing curriculum framework
■ After 2012: based on national qualification framework
and specialized learning outcome
■ Have core competency of Nurse and Midwife
■ Creating core competency of MD and Dentist

3. Higher education innovation
■ 2005: Resolution No.14/2005: Project of
innovation of higher education period 2006 to
2020.
Goals: In 2020 , higher education in Vietnam reached
the advanced level in the region and in the world ;
with high competitiveness, adapt to the market
economy socialist orientation .
6 objectives and activities

4. Challenges
■ The quality of graduates are not compatible with socio-
economic needs (ability, practical and soft skills)
■ The weak linkage among education - scientific research
and commercialization
■ Financial allocation mechanism from state budget is
mainly based on the number of student
■ Higher education programs lack of diversity
■ The quality of lecturers and managers is inadequate
■ The changes to the curriculum were slow and failed to
meet to society's demand

5. Strategies to 2020 (1)
Key principles
■ National level
■ Change from quantity to quality and efficiency
■ Institutional level
■ Focus on fully develop students’ capacities
and competencies

6. Strategies to 2020 (2)
1. Reform of the organizing and recruiting
student
2. Reform higher education finance
3. Establish and reorient teaching programs
4. Strengthen the collaboration between higher
education and industry
5. Adjust the development indicators of higher
education following the state documents;

7. 6. Continue to reform higher education management and
governance
7. Continue and speed up the reform of knowledge
delivering methods, testing and assessment
8. Establish a national qualifications framework
9. Focus more on improving the quality of teaching and
managing staff
10. Have put in place robust quality assurance
frameworks
11. Actively integrate and improve the efficiency of
international cooperation

8. Results of 10 years implementing
■ Laws on Higher education came to effect since January 2013
■ Completing the adjustment of planning network of higher
education institutions to 2020 (Decision 37/QĐ-TTg dated
26/06/2013)
■ Education development strategy (including higher education)
to 2020
■ Having National quality assurance framework, including
standards and guidelines (circular No.42/2012
■ Enhancing quality assured national system
■ Increasing not only number of students enrolling HEIs from
116/ 100 thousand people (2005) to 200 (2013) but also on
quality learning of students

9. Results (cont.)
■ Encouraging socialization of higher education:
increasing number of private HEIs and internation HEIs
in Vietnam
■ Creating Vietnam credits system, national qualification
framework and academic credits transfer
■ Encouraging harmonization of higher education:
transferring academic credits in ASEAN universities,
GMS; training international labors; exporting/ mobile
labors who had HE degree to some countries
■ Importing some international program of famous
universities in the other countries to teach in HEIs
■ Establishing a fairly quality assurance system

10. Thank you for your attention

13. Establishing a fairly quality assurance
system
■ Investment in improving infrastructure
■ Building quality culture in higher education
institutions
■ New curriculum have been established to adopt with
the growing practical change of the world of work
■ Reform of teaching methods, testing and evaluating
measures
■ Curriculum reorientation have been carried out in
varying levels