Nearly 100 domestic and foreign scholars are discussing tertiaryeducation reform at a conference that opened in Ho Chi Minh City on July31.

The two-day event is hoped to help theGovernment senior officials, educators and entrepreneurs work onstrategies and proposals to change higher education in Vietnam.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau, representing the education dialogue group,stressed the need to conduct a fundamental, comprehensive reform in thesystem, saying it is necessary to recognise bottlenecks and eliminatethem as soon as possible.

The purpose of tertiaryeducation is not only to provide knowledge for students but also helpthem promote their logical thinking and creativity, said Deputy Ministerof Education and Training Bui Van Ga.

However,Vietnam is facing with an array of difficulties to increase the qualityof higher education. Many universities fail to equip their students withintensive knowledge and practice skills, while scientific research isunderestimated, Ga added.

Furthermore, a lot ofuniversities have managed to cling onto the State subsidy mechanisms fortheir survival, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan pointedout, adding that the National Education Council is seeking to help themstand on their own feet.

Given the restrictions,Processor Chau, Fields Medal winner, recommended considering the qualityof the teaching staff as an assessment of the university leadership,and taking the lecturers’ income as one of the criteria to rank thecolleges.-VNA