Resolution 71 of the Politburo: Breakthrough in education development

According to many scientists and university leaders, the newly issued Resolution 71 of the Politburo has many bright spots in directing the development of higher education, creating an opportunity to create momentum for schools to accelerate on the path of international integration.

VERY NEW THINKING

According to Professor Le Bao Long, National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS), University of Quebec, Canada, Resolution 71 has many breakthroughs with very specific goals. Some of the thinking is very new, standard, and in line with the trend of the times, especially in the field of higher education . Higher education has been linked to the needs, to meet socio-economic development, focusing highly on science and technology development. The Resolution sets very specific and clear goals, especially in higher education.

Resolution 71 of the Politburo has received a lot of expectations in improving the quality of teachers, accelerating and raising the quality of education.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Our fundamental weakness in training current talents lies mainly in postgraduate training (masters, PhDs). This is a very important bottleneck, because it does not provide a strong and large enough human resource for science and technology development, which is the most important condition for a developing country like Vietnam to become a developed country, before facing many challenges (for example, an aging population).

However, the target of "6,000 PhD students" set by Resolution 71 is still quite modest. Some leading corporations such as Google and Microsoft already have tens of thousands of PhDs working in high technology. Therefore, we need to increase the number of master's and PhD students at top universities to almost equal the number of university students. By all means, provide full financial support for PhD students, at least in key science and technology fields at leading universities in Vietnam.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR TECHNICAL SCHOOLS

According to Associate Professor Nguyen Hoang Long, Principal of the University of Transport Technology, Resolution 71 opens up a great opportunity for technical universities to improve quality and attract good and excellent students. First of all, the resolution sets out very specific and far-reaching goals, helping schools easily determine the right approach in their development path. Second, the tasks and solutions outlined in the resolution are very "on point", helping the higher education system, especially the technical school sector, create a breakthrough change.

Currently, the technical school sector faces two basic difficulties: investment and enrollment. To provide good training, economic potential is needed, because investing in technical training infrastructure is extremely costly.

Regarding enrollment, for a long time, the standard score for technical subjects has been relatively lower than that for economic subjects. Talent training cannot be successful without breakthrough policies to attract, encourage creativity and create conditions for learners to reach high capacity and level. Therefore, it is necessary for the State to issue a policy to provide living expenses for students participating in excellent and talented training programs in basic sciences, key engineering and strategic technology.

"Resolution 71 proposes solutions to develop and implement a talent training project, prioritizing basic sciences, engineering and technology; requiring investment in modernizing technical infrastructure for universities, focusing on upgrading facilities, laboratories, building excellent research and training centers... With Resolution 71, I believe this is an opportunity for the network of excellent and talented training centers to demonstrate its mission," said Associate Professor Nguyen Hoang Long.

Developing high quality human resources

Currently, the proportion of people with university degrees is about 12% of the Vietnamese population. Resolution 71 sets the target of raising the proportion of workers with college and university degrees to over 24%, which is an important orientation to develop high-quality human resources to meet the requirements of socio-economic development in the context of international integration.

There are many proposed solutions to improve the quality and quantity of people with college and university degrees. The first is to innovate the training program. The second is to strengthen the connection between schools and businesses. The third is to encourage lifelong learning, learning anytime, anywhere. Create conditions for workers to study to improve their professional qualifications and vocational skills throughout their working process.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoan, Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade

Ha Anh (written)

Clear orientation of non-public education

The orientation of Resolution 71 towards non-public education is somewhat clearer with the affirmation that "public education is the pillar, non-public education is an important component of the national education system". However, the relative roles between public and non-public education should be more clearly oriented in different groups of education levels. The investment strategy for education of some countries that have successfully transformed from developing to developed economies is: at the general education level, the role of the state is the pillar; at the university level, the role of the state is only for a few public institutions so that these institutions are capable of leading the entire system.

Master Chau Duong Quang, University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

My Quyen (written)

REMOVING THE LAST BARRIER TO UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY

Dr. Le Mai Lan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VinUni University, commented: "I like the word "breakthrough" in the title of Resolution 71. Previously, we had resolutions on "comprehensive innovation", "comprehensive", so we were perfectionist and required a lot of time. In the current context, we cannot be slow, so we need to "breakthrough", meaning we cannot be slow, we must be drastic, we must be different. I like that perception and approach".

Resolution 71 has many breakthroughs with very specific goals, very new thinking, following the trend of the times, especially in the field of university education.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Dr. Le Mai Lan added that university autonomy is also an issue she is interested in in Resolution 71. One of the solutions that the resolution proposes is that universities are allowed to decide, recruit, and appoint personnel, both professionals and leaders. For a private university where 40% of its professional staff are foreigners like VinUni, this is a very meaningful story.

"Because we manage centrally, schools face many difficulties in appointing professors and associate professors. Attracting talented foreign scientists and overseas Vietnamese is inherently not easy, and there is also the issue of appointment. They are excellent, many of them are professors at foreign universities, but when they come to Vietnam, they have to meet standards such as having key national projects, guiding a certain number of masters and doctoral students... Then they have to go through all levels of councils... If following that process, an assistant professor at VinUni will never be promoted to professor! Resolution 71 requires removing this barrier", Dr. Le Mai Lan shared.

Professor Le Bao Long also said that the State needs to have policies to create maximum convenience for attracting good experts (Vietnamese and foreigners) to encourage them to cooperate with domestic experts and universities. At the same time, review and change regulations to be consistent with world standards (such as regulations on admission and protection for PhD students, appointment of Associate Professors and Professors at research universities...).

SUCCESS IF DONE CORRECTLY AND DETERMINEDLY

Commenting on the breakthroughs in Resolution 71, Professor Le Bao Long emphasized: "I believe we will succeed if we do it right and resolutely, for many reasons. Our economic potential is large enough. We are quite successful in training STEM majors at the high school level. Vietnamese students are excellent and in the top group compared to Asian and world countries (in natural sciences)".

According to Professor Long, we currently have a large number of young human resources and students who are passionate about learning, researching and applying technology. "In addition, the young generation of Vietnam from Gen Z onwards has very good English proficiency compared to previous generations and the region. We also have a market of 100 million people, large enough to test, apply and deploy high technology, a Government that promotes the development of science and technology and acts quickly and decisively. We have a team of well-trained university lecturers, improving every day in both quantity and quality, and a strong team of Vietnamese experts abroad, ready to cooperate with Vietnam if there are suitable policies," Professor Long believes.

To have an elite university in the world's top 100

Resolution 71 sets the target that by 2030 we will strive to have at least 1 institution, by 2035 at least 2 institutions, and by 2045 at least 5 higher education institutions in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings. According to Dr. Tran Duc Canh, former member of the National Council for Education and Human Resources Development, this is a big challenge, not simple, but an ambition.

We must go step by step with a solid foundation, meeting the criteria of hardware and "software" including facilities, curriculum, scientific research, teaching resources, student input...

The resolution affirms the role of non-public university education, including the solution of not applying corporate income tax to private educational institutions operating not for profit. Currently, Vietnam has more than 240 universities, of which 67 are private, but there is not a single truly non-profit private university. If Vietnam had a truly non-profit university, it would be easy to develop into an elite university and be able to enter the top universities in the world.

My Quyen

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nghi-quyet-71-cua-bo-chinh-tri-dot-pha-phat-trien-giao-duc-185250829002317311.htm