The number of PhD-level lecturers in the North is higher than in other regions combined.

Đại diện một trường đại học trao đổi về tiêu chuẩn giảng viên của chuẩn cơ sở giáo dục đại học tại hội nghị do Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo tổ chức sáng 22-3 - Ảnh: V.N.T. — A university representative discussed the lecturer standards of higher education institutions at a conference organized by the Ministry of Education and Training on the morning of March 22 - Photo: VNT

According to the standards for higher education institutions issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2024, the criteria for the proportion of full-time lecturers with doctoral degrees is not lower than 20% and from 2030 not lower than 30% for universities that do not provide doctoral training; not lower than 40% and from 2030 not lower than 50% for universities that provide doctoral training.

Many opinions say that this criterion is a big challenge for schools, especially universities in the Southern region.

Statistics show that there are currently about 85,000 university and college lecturers. Of these, only 26,800 have doctoral degrees, accounting for 32%.

However, schools in the North have a higher percentage of PhDs than those in the South. Schools in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta have a very low percentage of PhD lecturers.

Not only lecturers with doctoral degrees, but also other titles and qualifications such as professor, associate professor or master's degree in Southern universities are very low.

It is noteworthy that if calculated by economic region, the whole country has 6 regions. The ratio of lecturers with the title of professor, associate professor and doctor of 5 regions combined is not equal to the Red River Delta region. The Central Highlands is the region with the fewest universities, so the ratio of lecturers at all levels is at the bottom of the list.

In terms of professorship, the Red River Delta region dominates in terms of proportion. It is understandable because this is the region with the most universities in Vietnam, accounting for 44.3% of the total number of universities.

The Southeast region has the second largest number of universities in the country, accounting for 18.4%. However, the proportion of lecturers with the title of professor is very different.

Đồ họa: MINH GIẢNG — Graphics: MINH GIANG

The Red River Delta alone accounts for more than 63% of the number of lecturers with the title of professor in the whole country.

In the title of associate professor, the Red River Delta also accounts for nearly 60%. The remaining five regions combined are not equal.

The situation is similar at the doctoral level. The Red River Delta accounts for more than 50%.

Meanwhile, at the master's level, the difference between regions still exists but is not as high as at higher levels.

Compared to other levels, the rate of lecturers with master's degrees in the Red River Delta is lower, although still the highest in the country. Other regions have seen an increase in the rate of lecturers with master's degrees.

Thus, compared to the standards of higher education institutions, many universities are still far from meeting the criteria for the ratio of full-time lecturers with doctoral degrees.

Nationwide, about 40% of higher education institutions have a ratio of lecturers with doctoral degrees to the total number of permanent lecturers lower than 20%.

Mr. Vu Van Yem - Hanoi University of Science and Technology - said that in the past two years, many schools have been recruiting PhDs, paying 300 - 500 million VND for PhDs to return to their schools, probably following the circular on standards for higher education institutions. This is also good. However, this criterion is a challenge for schools in the South, requiring schools to have appropriate staff training strategies.

More than 5,500 lecturers with university degrees

Statistics for the 2021-2022 school year from the Ministry of Education and Training show that universities have more than 5,500 university-level lecturers, accounting for 7.1% of the total number of lecturers. This figure has decreased significantly compared to the rate of up to 47% in 2011.

The rate of lecturers with the title of professor and associate professor has also increased steadily from 2010 to present, reaching about 6.6%.

However, the Ministry of Education and Training assesses that the number of lecturers who are professors (about more than 600 people) and associate professors (more than 4,500) is still low.

The teaching staff has low doctoral qualifications while the teaching workload is too large, which limits the learning and improvement of lecturers' qualifications.

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