Medical training: Lack of monitoring tools, just a matter of meeting enrollment quotas?

TP - In recent times, many private universities have opened programs in the health sciences group. However, it seems we lack the tools to monitor everything from determining enrollment quotas to establishing criteria and equipment to ensure quality.

Báo Tiền Phong•01/10/2025

"Shoot" to meet the quota.

In 2016, Hanoi University of Business and Technology announced its medical program admissions. However, the process of determining the minimum and cut-off scores was confusing, with the application acceptance score being 20 but the admission score being 18. Shortly afterward, the university had to withdraw the announcement, citing the Ministry of Education and Training's lack of approval. In October 2016, the Ministry of Education and Training officially authorized the university to offer medical programs.

Following the initial case, which caused a stir, many subsequent cases quietly entered the medical training market, and the training landscape of the industry now has a full spectrum of bright and dark colors.

The traditional subject combination for medical fields (medicine, dentistry, traditional medicine) is B00 (Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology), with Biology and Chemistry being the most important subjects. However, in recent years, some private universities have begun including Literature in their admissions process for these fields.

The inclusion of Literature as a subject in the entrance examination for medical programs has sparked much controversy, but universities justify using Literature for medical admissions in the name of the "humanistic" requirements of the medical profession. In reality, the core issue is simply to recruit students at all costs, disregarding the quality of the applicants for a field that demands very rigorous training standards.

In 2025, initially, a number of universities also included subject combinations without Biology in their admissions process for medical training. For medical training programs, experts assert that it is very dangerous not to use subject combinations that include Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology, as the field of study requires foundational knowledge in these three subjects.

Otherwise, students will face difficulties in their studies as well as in their future careers. Recently, every year the Ministry of Education and Training has had to issue a document requiring schools to review admission combinations when "inconsistent" combinations appear with the field of study, including medical training programs.

All conditions must be met.

Reporters have observed that since 2021, the number of private universities offering health-related training programs has increased significantly. Hoa Sen University has opened four new health-related majors: dentistry, biomedical engineering, hospital management, and pharmacy.

Hong Bang International University has opened eight new health-related majors, including: traditional medicine, medical imaging technology, oral health, midwifery, nutrition, pediatric care, occupational therapy, and hospital management…

One of the prerequisites for opening a healthcare program is having clinical practice facilities. The Ministry of Health has quite strict regulations on this matter. However, in reality, one hospital once had to accommodate interns from… 11 universities.

Or, for example, most private schools don't have full-time lecturers at the teaching hospital; the practical training for students is entirely entrusted to the hospital's doctors...

The number of schools participating in the healthcare training market has skyrocketed, from only 11 schools in 2015 to nearly 40 schools nationwide in 2020, and currently almost 70 schools. Meanwhile, it takes a long time to build a new hospital, and the number of newly established hospitals can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Candidates seek information about university admissions in 2025. (Photo: NHU Y)

Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Education and Training stated that universities opening new majors and organizing training programs in health-related fields aims to meet the urgent demand for human resources in the labor market. If they meet the conditions stipulated by law, higher education institutions have equal rights in opening new majors/training programs to provide human resources.

For health-related fields, educational institutions wishing to open such programs must meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Education and Training specifies criteria regarding lecturers and facilities. The Ministry of Education and Training determines the minimum quality assurance threshold for admission (minimum score) with the participation of the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health confirms the conditions as stipulated in Decree No. 111/2017/ND-CP on the program, plan, and contract for practical training; and the requirements for organizing practical training as prescribed.

The number of universities offering health-related programs has skyrocketed, but the number of newly built hospitals remains very small.

For all applications to open training programs in the health sector, in addition to the assessment of eligibility requirements by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Health as stipulated, higher education institutions must publicly disclose the documentation proving their eligibility on the school's website for monitoring by relevant parties and the entire society.

The Ministry of Education and Training regularly conducts unannounced and periodic inspections of training, admissions, quality assurance, and the conditions for maintaining training programs. For programs that do not meet quality assurance or maintenance requirements, the institution will be notified to review and make necessary adjustments. After the deadline, the training institution will have its admissions suspended.