Creating a legal corridor for the process of fundamental and comprehensive innovation of higher education

Increasing autonomy for higher education institutions

Participating in the discussion, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Lan said that the draft amended Law was developed in the context of the whole sector implementing Resolution 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development; demonstrating a strong, consistent and inheritable innovative mindset; at the same time, it has absorbed many opinions from university governance practices in the 2018-2024 period, contributing to meeting the requirements of innovating governance models, improving quality, efficiency, autonomy and self-responsibility of higher education institutions.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Thi Lan speaks at the discussion at Group 1

According to National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Lan, the draft has many outstanding innovations; typically, it has institutionalized the spirit of Resolution 71-NQ/TW (2025), in which it has concretized the policy of strengthening the leadership role of Party organizations, abolishing public school councils (except for schools with international agreements) and moving towards the model of Party Secretary concurrently being the head of the institution. Thereby, it has created an important breakthrough to help unify and improve leadership effectiveness. The draft also clarifies the principles of modern university governance, clearly defining the roles between Party leadership - State management - Autonomous educational institutions, creating a more transparent, streamlined and effective legal framework. At the same time, it strengthens autonomy associated with accountability, with new regulations emphasizing academic, organizational and financial autonomy coupled with discipline and transparency, contributing to improving the quality and reputation of the university system.

Regarding the innovation of the appointment mechanism and responsibility of the head, the Principal and Director are identified as the person with full responsibility, the sole legal representative, in accordance with the requirements of centralized administration and power control.

To perfect the draft, National Assembly member Nguyen Thi Lan proposed to add clearer regulations on the model of "Party Party Secretary and Head of Public Higher Education Institution" in the spirit of Resolution 71-NQ/TW to create an important breakthrough to help unify and improve leadership effectiveness. The Secretary - Principal must take full responsibility before the Party, the State and the law. "Clear regulations in written law will help unify awareness and ensure feasibility in implementation," National Assembly member Nguyen Thi Lan emphasized.

In addition, delegates said that it is necessary to specify the inspection, supervision, and accountability mechanisms of the leaders. Along with the concentration of power, there should be an internal monitoring and independent auditing mechanism to ensure publicity and transparency, avoiding the risk of abuse of power or laxity of responsibility. On the other hand, it is necessary to clarify the transition roadmap for public educational institutions operating under the current School Council model. Specific instructions are needed for schools to convert their organizational, personnel, and financial models in a reasonable manner, without disrupting operations and ensuring the legitimate rights of relevant parties.

Commenting on Articles 11 and 12 on regulations related to Regional Universities, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Lan said that, according to legislative principles, the law needs to be universal, stable in the long term and applicable to the entire system. Therefore, it is not advisable to prescribe a specific model such as “Regional Universities”, especially when currently the whole country has only three units operating under this model. Specifying in the law can reduce the generality and flexibility of the legal document when organizing implementation later.

"The Drafting Committee is requested to consider transferring the content on "Regional Universities" to sub-law documents to ensure flexibility, in line with the roadmap for arranging the university education system; at the same time, keep the Law with a wider and more stable scope of regulation," National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Lan proposed.

Developing innovation ecosystem in schools

Notably, to ensure consistency and synchronization with the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation (effective from October 1, 2025), National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Lan proposed that the Drafting Committee consider and supplement the following points. Firstly, regarding the organizational structure of higher education institutions (Article 15), add the phrase "science and technology enterprises" at point h, clause 1 because the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation clearly stipulates this type of enterprise. The supplement will create a legal basis for universities to establish or participate in science and technology enterprises, promote the commercialization of research results and develop an innovation ecosystem in schools.

Second, regarding scientific, technological and innovative activities (Article 27), this content does not fully reflect domestic and international cooperation. Therefore, delegates proposed adding a new point, which is "Domestic and international cooperation on science, technology and innovation; registration, protection and exploitation of intellectual property". This addition helps the Law accurately reflect the practice of cooperation, technology transfer and international integration of higher education institutions.

Third, in Article 28 on developing scientific, technological and innovation potential, delegates proposed: adding the phrase "science and technology, innovation models" at point d, clause 2 to expand the scope of infrastructure investment, including net houses, greenhouses, experimental workshops, innovation centers, high-tech application models... This regulation will help higher education institutions have a legal basis to invest and effectively implement research activities, transfer and commercialization of scientific and technological products.

In Clause 3, Article 18 stipulates that the members of the Science and Training Council include "enterprises, employers, alumni, local authorities". According to the analysis of the delegates, these groups should participate in the Independent Advisory Board established by the Director/Principal to provide feedback and connect with practice. It should be clarified that the members of enterprises, employers, alumni, and local authorities are only encouraged and flexible, and are not required to be official members of the Science Council - where expertise and academic strategy need to be focused.

Notably, commenting on the framework and the authority to prescribe details of the Government and the Ministry of Education and Training, National Assembly member Nguyen Thi Lan said that the Draft Law on Higher Education (amended) currently has many provisions of a framework nature, assigning the Government or the Ministry of Education and Training to prescribe details (estimated at about 18 articles). This design helps increase flexibility, allowing timely adjustments according to practice, especially in specialized fields such as finance, quality control, science and technology and international cooperation.

However, according to the analysis of the delegate, assigning too much content to sub-law documents can reduce the transparency, stability and predictability of the law, causing higher education institutions to wait for instructions, affecting the progress of implementation. Therefore, it is recommended that the Drafting Committee review and retain in the Law the contents of principles, basic rights and obligations; only assign the Government and the Ministry of Education and Training to specify technical issues in detail.

Overcoming existing limitations in vocational education

Paying attention to the contents related to the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended), National Assembly Deputy Duong Minh Anh highly agreed with many contents of the Draft amendments to overcome existing limitations in the implementation of the current Law on Vocational Education; promptly remove obstacles and difficulties in practice to innovate and improve the quality of vocational education.

National Assembly Deputy Duong Minh Anh speaks at the discussion at Group 1

Commenting on the principles of vocational education activities (Article 4), National Assembly Deputy Duong Minh Anh agreed with the inclusion of the content: "ensuring full and comprehensive autonomy for vocational education institutions regardless of the level of financial autonomy associated with accountability, effective supervision, transparent operations, quality, efficiency and sustainable development". This helps to overcome the shortcomings in implementing autonomy for vocational education institutions in the past time.

In addition, at point b, clause 3, Article 7 allows universities to implement vocational education programs in the following cases: "training at university level for specialized majors and occupations in the fields of arts and sports is implemented through secondary vocational education programs and intermediate and college level training programs in the same occupational groups". Delegates believe that this provision should only be applied to universities that specialize in teaching in the fields of arts and sports because these universities already have high-quality human resources, which are teams of teachers who are professors, doctors, artists, and coaches with reputations in the industry who are well-trained, and have facilities that meet the standards for the fields of arts and sports. Therefore, to avoid wasting resources, the above regulation is reasonable to apply to these schools.

In addition, regarding the development of training programs, the provisions of the Law on Vocational Education 2014 and the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended) this time do not have regulations on the development of training programs for fields, industries, and professions such as medicine, health, arts, and sports because these are very specific fields, so the design of training programs in terms of admission age, training time, and class organization is very different from other fields.

"It is recommended that the Drafting Committee consider general regulations in the Law and assign the Ministry of Education and Training to specifically regulate the development of training programs for specific fields and professions such as medicine, health, arts, and sports," National Assembly Deputy Duong Minh Anh stated.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/tao-hanh-lang-phap-ly-cho-qua-trinh-doi-moi-can-ban-toan-dien-giao-duc-dai-hoc-10392459.html