Professor Ngo Bao Chau
Professor Ngo Bao Chau, who teaches at the University of Chicago, said he supported the decision to remove certain ineffective university departments. However, concerning the quality of lecturers, he commented that many higher education facilities in Vietnam have already been asking the government for funds to send educators overseas for training.
"Some universities are doing well, and the quality of their lecturers is good, but the system as a whole has faults," he said.
Another brought up by the professors is the low salary paid to university lecturers. Chau said that the calculation of salary for teachers here is complicated and lacks transparency.
Doctor Tran Ngoc Anh
Meanwhile, Dr. Tran Ngoc Anh, from Indiana University, said the education sector should be considered as a market. "I think the education sector is a market like any other, which can operate without much intervention from the state."
Still, others disagree, tending not to trust market ethics for education, as shortcomings in this area could lead to useless study or an incompetent workforce. According to Anh, however, the government's role should be restricted to designing intelligent policies that would cut back on useless majors.
"I think we should open this 'market' to hundreds or even thousands of investors. There will be a mess of good and bad universities. But they'll sort themselves out after a period of time and establish their own education associations. Learners with particular needs would be able find a suitable university, be it high or low-quality," Anh said.
According to Anh, it would take five to ten years for the education market to reach such a point and authorities would need to aid in the reforms.
