Addressing a conference in Hanoi on August 25 to review the 2008-09 academic year, Mr Dung acknowledged the sector’s substantial contributions to the country during the past 23 years of Doi Moi (Renewal).

However, he said, the quality and quantity of human resources has yet to meet the country’s development requirements. He pointed out weaknesses in State management and policy implementation which have prevented the sector from making the best use of domestic and foreign resources for development.

He asked the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to re-examine and revise law-regulated documents, especially those relating to work regulations and financial mechanisms, to help training institutions to mobilise their resources for development.

He asked the ministry to speed up decentralisation of management and adopt incentives for teachers to instil determination and stimulate creativity. He assured the participants that the government will create favourable conditions for the sector to increase the number of qualified lecturers, considering it a key factor in improving tertiary education.

He requested that the sector continue with its new financial and tuition fee plan and effectively use capital resources, particularly the State budget, to build schools, dormitories and housing for teachers. He reminded the sector to speed up the interest-subsidised loan programme to ensure that no students pass up school due to financial difficulty.

He asked the MoET to review a programme on improving the quality of tertiary education at several key universities such as Hanoi and HCM City National Universities, National University of Economics, National University of Technology, and Hanoi Medical University to replicate the programme across the country and develop universities meeting international standards.

To date 17 Vietnamese universities have applied advanced curricula from universities in the region and the world to boost education quality. The MoET is currently working on a project to build 4 universities meeting international standards.

At the event, the ministry presented 33 awards to collectives in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the 2008-09 academic year.