In a press conference to confirm under fire Phan Thiet University can be allowed to provide training, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) says it’s unfeasible to license universities only when they meet all requirements.

Question: How would MOET explain the fact that the Phan Thiet University inspection team includes members who previously checked the application for the university establishment? Do you think that the inspection taken by such members was objective?

Nguyen Van Chien, MOET’s Chief Inspector: The inspection team includes eight members. I can say for sure that even though some members previously directly checked the original application for university establishment, this in no way affects the result of the final inspection. There are no regulations which say if someone is involved in an initial application examination then they are not able to inspect it.

In fact it is really a good thing to have such members in the inspection team. The members can compare what the university committed to do and what it has done.

Question: Why is the true list of permanent and visiting lecturers still not on the official website together with their scientific records as requested by MOET?

Tran Thi Ha, Director of the University Education Department: The 1998 and 2005 Education Laws stipulate that the lecturers at university level have university degrees at least and have teacher’s certificates. In an effort to improve the training quality of universities, MOET has asked universities to have more masters and doctors, however, there is no legal regulation which says people with university degrees cannot teach at universities.

Regarding putting the list of lecturers on the website, we will instruct the Phan Thiet University to do this.

Question: When checking documents about opening new training options, does MOET take fact-finding trips?

Tran Thi Ha: It has happened in some cases that universities have showed lists with many lecturers. However, they have been unable to show signed labour contracts between university and lecturers. And we had to check this very carefully.

However, there is no current regulation stipulating that fact-finding is required as a must. MOET is checking regulations on the issue and, in future, we will add “fact-finding” into the regulations.

Question: Do you think that a tourist site is best suited for teaching university students? Does it mean MOET is agreeing to lower standards set for universities ?

Pham Vu Luan, Deputy Minister of MOET: In the current circumstances in Vietnam, we should not wait for everything to be ready and then grant licenses. Of course, universities must strive to meet standards, but they may not obtain everything in the first stages of operation.

In the case of Phan Thiet University, it is building a school near the Mui Ne ancient village. However, in the first years of training, the village can provide necessary conditions for training with study options which do not require specific laboratories or equipment.

(Source: VietNamNet)