Students at Economics and Technical Vocational Training School in HCM City
Vocational training snubbed
According to the statistics by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), last year 591 education institutions were assigned to enrol a combined 374,787 students for vocational training. However, by the end of 2012, the number of students who entered the schools fulfilled only 63.5% of the target.
Many students who passed the exams for vocational training did not enter their schools as they also had opportunities to study at universities and colleges.
Last year, 107,068 such students completed procedures to study at colleges, accounting for 42.6% of the total figure; 26,695 opted to study at universities, representing 10.6%; 4,758 studied at other education institutions that provide vocational training, accounting for 1.9%.
A total of 112,681 students of such group entered vocational training schools, representing 44.9%.
Most students who pursue vocational training want to become professionals rather than skilled manual workers. Nearly 90,000 students chose health as their subject, accounting for 34% of the total vocational students.
Over 50,000 students or 22% studied business and management while just over 40,000 students or 17% studied technical subject.
Only a modest number of students studied agriculture-forestry and fisheries, environment, and production and processing which often need larger numbers of workers.
Ngo Kim Khoi, an official from the Ministry of Education and Training, blamed the situation on students who preferred studying at universities rather than at vocational training schools.
“The number of students graduating from high school has tended to remain stable or even slightly fallen over recent years. However, more universities and colleges have been set up, providing larger opportunities to study at tertiary level. Universities and colleges have a long period open for enrolment, so only a few students who have no other choice enter vocational training schools,” Khoi noted.
Many families don’t want their children to pursue vocational training due to fewer employment opportunities and lower pay.
Bad career guidance at high school level have added to the situation.
Solutions
For enrolment for the 2013 academic year, the MoET has applied a new policy that restricts vocational students from studying at colleges and universities. As a result, vocational students who have yet to study at their schools for three years must do tests for basic subjects during the university entrance exam. Earlier, they just had to do tests for subjects related to their majors.
The regulations have concerned several vocational school leaders who fear that fewer students may study at this level in the time to come.
Bui Anh Tuan, director of the ministry’s Tertiary Education Department said that it would be a waste of money if a student studied at a vocational training school just to seek another opportunity to study at colleges and universities.
In order to attract more vocational students, the ministry had allowed vocational training schools to continue to enrol students based on their marks at their university entrance exams and student selection would be conducted for several times during a year.
