Universities should consider people’s living conditions before they make plans for increasing tuition fees, says Dao Trong Thi, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children.
Speaking at a meeting between the NA Standing Committee’s supervisory team, Hanoi authorities and universities based in the capital city on February 26, Thi said tuition fees should not be increased hastily.
Schools should seek more financial support from the society for their operations, he advised.
He said the team has worked with nearly 40 universities in Hanoi, Thai Nguyen Province, Hai Phong City, and others in the South, on education-related issues, including tuition fees.
The team will also work with universities in Central Highlands and central province to complete a report on higher education supervision and then submit it to the NA for consideration, he said.
Le Minh Hong, deputy chairman of the Committee, proposed unqualified universities be suspended, for the sake of ensuring quality of tertiary education in the country.
Many universities have been established without meeting required standards, leading to poor quality training provided to students, he said.
When providing financial support to universities, the State should give priority to a number of schools selected under certain criteria, the supervisory team has suggested.
It has also warned that the State investment in higher education remains low at an average VND5 million (US$263) per student per year.
Commenting on the fact that many universities have complained that the current tuition fee rates are too low to cover their operating expenses, thereby affecting training quality, Thi reiterated that an increase in tuition fees must be carried out through proper steps, avoiding hasty decisions.
He also said many education-related issues needed to re-examined, including school system planning, establishment of schools, recruitment targets, training programs, and training quality.
The meeting also discussed the suggestion from many universities that the Ministry of Education and Training should empower universities to carry out recruitment of staff on their own.
