Regarding the university council in highereducation institutions, Mr. Vu Hoang Linh, Chairman of the University Council of the University of Natural Sciences - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, commented that in the process of university autonomy, this is a suitable governance model, but it must be put into practice.

However, he said that currently in many higher education institutions, the school council still exists in a formality and does not really play a governance role.

“At my school, the school council has members outside the school who are leaders, business owners, and alumni, but because of their busy work, they hardly attend school council meetings, and if they do, they do only formal work. Even important tasks such as electing the school council chairman or principal usually only have 1-2 out of 6 outside members participating,” said Mr. Linh.

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Mr. Vu Hoang Linh, Chairman of the Council of the University of Science - Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Photo: Tran Hiep.

Mr. Linh believes that school boards need to operate more practically and that individuals participating in school boards must have real experience in university administration. “School board leaders must have experience in university administration to better support administration. School board members, especially those outside the school, need to pay more attention,” Mr. Linh said.

Mr. Linh also hopes that after the revised Law on Higher Education, the activities of school councils will become more substantial, truly contributing and effective.

Prof. Dr. Tran Trung, Director of the Academy of Ethnic Minorities, said that there should be additional criteria to determine the level of autonomy of higher education institutions according to decentralization in establishing school councils.

“Universities can be decentralized to different levels of autonomy. If a university is assigned a high level of autonomy, the role of the university council will be very large and vice versa. For example, if a university is a group 4 autonomous unit, according to the principle, the governing body will directly manage and approve everything. Thus, the role of the university council can no longer decide anything,” said Mr. Trung.

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Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son speaks at the seminar. Photo: Tran Hiep.

In the draft report assessing the impact of the Law on Higher Education (amended), the Ministry of Education and Training also assessed that the school councils of some higher education institutions are not operating effectively, and have not properly and fully performed their functions, tasks, powers, and forms.

In particular, regulations on the organization of school councils at higher education institutions under the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense are inappropriate and unfeasible.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son, most university councils are currently in their first term.

“Therefore, many things, including the understanding and regulations on the authority and responsibility of the school board in the law, have not been explained, and it is difficult to provide clear instructions. Not to mention, we are switching to a model for the first time in several years, and the selection of personnel for the school board also lacks experience and time, so there are shortcomings,” said Mr. Son.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training also recognized that there are overlaps between the implementation of leadership methods, management organization, and operational activities in higher education institutions.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tranh-luan-hoi-dong-truong-ton-tai-o-muc-hinh-thuc-can-hoat-dong-thuc-chat-hon-2401360.html