“Residency and specialty training degrees are not master's or doctoral degrees”

(Dan Tri) - Postgraduate specialized training in the health field leading to residency and specialist degrees is managed by the Ministry of Health, but the degree of this program is not a master's or doctorate.

The explanation, acceptance and revision of the Law on Higher Education (amended) were commented on by the National Assembly Standing Committee in the morning session on December 4.

The Government's report on receiving and explaining opinions related to this draft law said that some National Assembly deputies proposed to supplement the training program and recognize diplomas for training in specialties I, II and resident doctors, and at the same time recognize these types of training as postgraduate training programs in the national education system.

The Government said that in response to the opinions of National Assembly delegates, the draft law has been revised in the direction of: "The specialized post-graduate training program in the health field that grants the degree of resident physician and specialist physician is managed by the Ministry of Health ."

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son presented a summary report of the Government receiving and explaining opinions related to the draft revised Law on Higher Education (Photo: Hong Phong).

This regulation ensures full institutionalization of Resolution No. 72, defining the responsibility of the Ministry of Health for professional content, competency standards and practice conditions of specialized training programs in the health sector.

However, to ensure the consistency of the national education system and qualifications, the Government states the view that "diplomas of residency, specialist I, and specialist II programs are not master's or doctoral degrees".

“These are specialized diplomas related to specific medical professions, certifying professional competence managed by the Ministry of Health,” the Government emphasized. The contents related to study conditions, competency standards, training programs, assessment and granting of specialized diplomas will be specified in detail by the Ministry of Health in sub-law documents, ensuring feasibility, quality training, and suitability to the specific characteristics of the health sector.

This regulation also ensures clear division of responsibilities between the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Health in managing health sector training.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the professional content, competency standards and practice conditions of specialized postgraduate training programs, while the Ministry of Education and Training carries out unified management of the system of qualifications, university, master's and doctoral degrees and quality standards in higher education.

From the side of the examining agency, the Standing Committee of the Culture and Social Affairs Committee agreed to add the content "the university education training system has a specific post-graduate program to grant specialized degrees and residency managed by the Ministry of Health".

The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on education-related contents (Photo: Hong Phong).

According to the review agency, this program provides specialized training related to professional capacity development and is not considered equivalent to a master's or doctoral degree.

The Standing Committee also agreed to supplement the regulation that the Minister of Education and Training coordinates with the Ministry of Health to issue standards for higher education institutions to conduct training in health sectors, and regulations on approving training programs at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels in the health sector.

The Minister of Health approves and organizes the implementation of specialized postgraduate training programs in the health field to grant degrees of resident physician and specialist physician, and at the same time regulates the threshold to ensure the quality of input for teacher training majors and majors in the health field.

Regarding the model and system of higher education institutions, some opinions believe that the current regional university model with a 2-level management mechanism increases the administrative intermediary layer, causing organizational inadequacies, so it is recommended to consider not maintaining or establishing this model. Some opinions suggest studying the restructuring of regional universities (into 1-level universities) to ensure streamlined administration.

The Government explained that the assessment of the superiority of a university model needs to be viewed from many aspects, summarized and evaluated comprehensively. The Draft Law continues to stipulate the regional university model in Article 12 to carry out the mission of promoting regional connectivity, pooling resources and supporting the socio-economic development of the region.

Through review, the Government found that this model has recently revealed limitations in organization and operation.

To overcome the shortcomings, the draft Law is designed to clearly define the mission, functions and strengthen the unity in internal management of the organization, operation, coordination mechanism, decentralization and use of resources of regional universities; at the same time, restructure and perfect the apparatus according to the roadmap, clearly identify the intermediate stage of regional universities to implement the process of reducing the number of focal points.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/bang-dao-tao-bac-si-noi-tru-chuyen-khoa-khong-phai-bang-thac-si-tien-si-20251204114528865.htm