Decision No. 121/2007/QĐ-TTg Approving the Master Plan for the Network of Universities and Colleges for the Period 2006-2020

DECISION OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Approving the Master Plan for the Network of Universities and Colleges for the Period 2006-2020

Approving the Master Plan for the Network of Universities and Colleges for the Period 2006-2020

PRIME MINISTER

Based on the Law on the Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2005 and Decree No. 75/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 2, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law;

Based on Decree No. 92/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2006 of the Government on the preparation, approval, and management of overall socio-economic development planning;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 34/2006/NQ-CP dated December 8, 2006 of the Government on the regular meeting in November 2006;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training at Circular No. 6526/TTr-BGDĐT dated June 25, 2007 regarding the project "Master Plan for the Network of Universities and Colleges in Vietnam for the Period 2006-2020",

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the Master Plan for the Network of Universities and Colleges for the Period 2006-2020 with the following main contents:

1. Orientation of the Master Plan

The construction and development of the network of universities and colleges during the period 2006-2020 shall be carried out according to the following basic orientations:

a) Reasonably expand the scale of university education to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization; be consistent with economic and social conditions and the country's scientific and technological potential; contribute to raising the people's educational level, developing human resources, and training talents; adjust the structure of human resource training systems, improve the quality and effectiveness of training, implement training based on societal needs; link training activities with scientific research and social life;

b) Harmonize the positive aspects of market mechanisms with the enhancement of the efficiency and effectiveness of state management; the state will increase budget investment, train and develop lecturers and educational managers; create land funds for school construction; ensure social equity; issue policies to support difficult regions, support students from priority groups, encourage learning, while promoting the socialization of education to mobilize all social resources to participate in higher education development;

c) Implement unified state management over policies, planning, training quality, lecturer standards, financial management requirements, and international cooperation for universities and colleges. Strengthen decentralization in management, enhance autonomy and self-responsibility of universities and colleges; build some strong universities and colleges, form university clusters; address the fragmented and scattered status of the network, many small schools with single majors and narrow specializations; encourage cooperation between localities in establishing schools;

d) Develop the network of universities and colleges must be consistent with the national development strategy and economic and social conditions, scientific and technological potential, linked to each region and locality; establish a reasonable structure of majors and training levels, arranged by region and area; build some high-level human resource training centers connected to key economic zones and economic driving areas; form some centralized human resource training centers by region, some university zones, to meet the relocation requirements of schools in the central urban areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and new investment needs;

e) Ensure the criteria specified for the quality of the teaching staff, land area scale, infrastructure and equipment, consistent with the state budget investment capacity, and the mobilization of social resources;

f) Prioritize the establishment of new institutions with sufficient potential and conditions; limit upgrading existing institutions; encourage training in industries; balance the structure of training among different levels of university, college, vocational intermediate, and vocational training, among different majors, between basic sciences and engineering technology; ensure the connectivity between different types and levels of training;

g) Focus on investing in building international-class universities, key universities, universities in remote, difficult, and underdeveloped areas, and critical fields; encourage the development of private universities to increasingly mobilize social resources for higher education investment, based on ensuring quality and social equity, linked to talent development.

2. Planning Objectives

a) Strive to reach 200 students per 10,000 population by 2010; 300 students per 10,000 population by 2015 and 450 students per 10,000 population by 2020. By 2020, about 70-80% of university students will be trained in vocational and applied programs and 20-30% of students will be trained in research programs;

b) By 2020, 30-40% of students will study at private higher education institutions;

c) By 2010, more than 40% of university lecturers and more than 30% of college lecturers will have master's degrees or higher; more than 25% of university lecturers and 5% of college lecturers will have doctoral degrees;

By 2015: 70% of university lecturers and more than 50% of college lecturers will have master's degrees or higher; more than 50% of university lecturers and at least 10% of college lecturers will have doctoral degrees;

By 2020, more than 90% of university lecturers and more than 70% of college lecturers will have master's degrees or higher; more than 75% of university lecturers and at least 20% of college lecturers will have doctoral degrees.

d) After 2010, the land area and construction area of schools will meet the standard norms stipulated for the average area per student; form university zones for foreign universities to invest in Vietnam;

e) By 2010, ensure that there are sufficient textbooks and materials for students according to regulations for subjects and majors;

f) By 2010, have 10 universities where each has at least one department (major) or field of training reaching quality criteria equivalent to reputable universities worldwide; by 2015, have 20 universities meeting these criteria and by 2020, have one university ranked among the top 200 universities globally;

g) Attract a ratio exceeding 0.1% after 2010; 1.5% after 2015 and 5% in 2020 of the total number of foreign students studying and researching in Vietnam.

3. Content of the Master Plan

a) Total scale of university and college education:

- Gradually increase the annual enrollment scale of the entire network to reach a target of admitting approximately 420,000 students in 2010; nearly 600,000 students in 2015 and 1,200,000 students in 2020;

- The total scale of university and college education of the entire network reaches about 1.8 million people in 2010; 3.0 million people in 2015 and 4.5 million people in 2020.

b) Scale of education of universities

The training scale of universities and colleges is determined based on ensuring conditions and factors affecting quality such as: the number and quality of lecturers, facilities serving education, classrooms, laboratories, practical sessions, student dormitories, the ability to apply information technology in teaching work and school management, etc., while being balanced appropriately with the characteristics of each institution, field of study, level of education, and management capacity to ensure that the quality of training continues to improve. The orientation for the training scale (the number of students converted according to the full-time training form) of groups of universities and colleges is as follows:

- Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University: approximately 42,000 students;

- Other key universities: approximately 35,000 students;

- Universities and academies training fields such as engineering and technology, economics, law, teacher education, and other areas linked to economy and technology: approximately 15,000 converted students;

- Universities and academies training fields such as healthcare, culture and society: approximately 8,000 students;

- Universities and academies training fields of special talents: approximately 5,000 students; Polytechnic and multi-level colleges: approximately 8,000 students;

- Polytechnics training in technology fields and community polytechnics: approximately 5,000 students;

- Polytechnics training fields of special talents: approximately 3,000 students.

c) Fields of education:

- Priority fields and trades: some fields in natural sciences, social sciences and humanities; information technology; mechatronics and automation technology; biotechnology; new materials technology; some technical and technological trades meeting industrialization and modernization requirements; teacher and high-level specialist training in service sectors;

- Adjust the structure of the number of students trained according to groups of fields and trades to reach the following ratio by 2020: basic sciences 9%; teacher education 12%; technology-engineering 35%; agriculture-forestry-fisheries 9%; healthcare 6%; economics-law 20% and other fields 9%;

d) Educational level structure:

- Gradually reduce the proportion of university students compared to the total number of university and college students from the level of 78.4% in 2005 down to 72% in 2010; 64% in 2015 and 56% in 2020;

- Continue establishing new vocational secondary schools and expanding vocational secondary programs in colleges and community colleges;

- Study and develop a two-year college system.

đ) Types of higher education institutions include:

- Public schools;

- Private schools;

- Schools with foreign investment (100% foreign capital or joint ventures).

e) System of higher education institutions includes:

- National universities;

- Universities;

- Universities, academies, colleges, and community colleges.

g) Tiering the network of universities and colleges includes:

- Universities ranked among the top 200 globally;

- Universities oriented towards research;

- Universities and colleges oriented towards vocational and applied training.

h) Distribution of the network of universities and colleges by region as follows:

- Hanoi City; Da Nang-Hue City; Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City are centers of training with many universities and colleges;

- Northwest Region: currently has 5 schools (1 university and 4 polytechnics). Expected to have around 10 schools in 2020 (3 universities and 7 polytechnics);

- Northeast Region: currently has 25 schools (6 universities, 19 polytechnics). Expected to have around 37 schools in 2020 (10 universities and 27 polytechnics);

- Red River Delta Region: currently has 104 schools (61 universities, 43 polytechnics). Expected to have around 125 schools in 2020; North Central Region: currently has 22 schools (11 universities and 11 polytechnics). Expected to have around 45 schools in 2020;

- South Central Coast Region: currently has 31 schools (10 universities and 21 polytechnics). Expected to have around 60 schools in 2020;

- Central Highlands Region: currently has 10 schools (4 universities and 6 polytechnics). Expected to have around 15 schools in 2020; Southeast Region: currently has 90 schools (47 universities and 43 polytechnics). Expected to have around 105 schools in 2020;

- Mekong Delta Region: currently has 24 schools (6 universities and 18 polytechnics). Expected to have around 70 schools in 2020.

i) Distribution of students and the network of schools in three major economic regions:

- Northern Key Economic Zone (linked to the Red River Delta Region): gradually reduce the proportion of students from this region from 43% in 2005 to 42% in 2010 and 40% in 2020 compared to the total scale of students nationwide. Attract investment to establish several foreign-funded or joint venture universities;

- Central Key Economic Zone (linked to the South Central Coast Region): establish new universities and polytechnics, prioritizing establishment in Danang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh to meet human resource requirements for industrialization and modernization in central provinces. Gradually increase the proportion of students from this region from 8.3% in 2005 to 10% in 2010 and reach 15% in 2020 compared to the total scale of students nationwide;

- Southern Key Economic Zone (linked to the Southeast Region): gradually reduce the proportion of students from this region from 26% now to 25% in 2010 and 24% in 2020 compared to the total scale of students nationwide. Attract investment to establish several foreign-funded or joint venture universities;

4. IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES

a) Group of solutions on investment and capital mobilization:

- Gradually increase state budget investment in higher education, while strengthening management and improving the efficiency of state budget utilization;

- Promote socialization in education;

- Attract ODA and FDI capital for higher education;

- Strengthen scientific research, technology transfer, and provide high-quality services according to societal needs to increase income for universities;

b) Group of solutions regarding the development of teaching staff and educational management personnel in higher education:

- Supplement the number and improve the quality of university and college lecturers to achieve the prescribed ratio of students to lecturers for universities, colleges, and groups of fields of study;

- Support the training and development of university and college lecturers (including both public and private institutions). Implement a program to train 20,000 PhDs to supplement and enhance the quality of university and college lecturers;

- Develop and promulgate regulations on the work of university and college lecturers;

- Develop and implement a new salary policy suitable for university and college lecturers;

- Issue policies to attract and utilize scientists from domestic and foreign research institutes to participate in teaching at universities and colleges;

- Reform the evaluation of university and college lecturers through various forms and linking it to students.

- Develop postgraduate training plans specifically for difficult regions;

c) Group of solutions to strengthen physical infrastructure:

- Support colleges with land. The minimum land area for a college with approximately 3,000 students is 6 hectares; for approximately 5,000 students is 10 hectares, and for approximately 7,000 students is 15 hectares. The minimum land area for a university with approximately 5,000 students is 10 hectares; for approximately 15,000 students is 30 hectares, and for approximately 25,000 students is 40 hectares or more.

For public schools with excessively small land areas (less than 2 hectares) located within the central urban areas of major cities, solutions to transfer land and construction projects on such land to new areas outside the city center with at least 10 hectares must be implemented.

- Issue mechanisms to create conditions for schools to proactively exploit investment resources to modernize technical infrastructure and equipment;

- Enhance the capacity and quality of library activities at schools; establish an electronic library system connecting schools within the same region, the same area, and nationwide;

- Establish a global information network and expand international exchanges for all domestic universities and colleges;

- Plan and rearrange the publication work of textbooks, books, and reference materials;

- Focus investment on modernizing classroom equipment and lecture halls; improve the quality of services for students;

- Invest in renovating, upgrading, and constructing new student dormitory areas, especially for schools in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City regions; encourage investment in building some university zones in the Northern, Southern, and Central regions;

- Strengthen cooperation between research institutes and centers and universities in training and research activities; establish some national key laboratories under key universities and leading universities; link basic research tasks with universities based on ensuring conditions and quality. Gradually support the formation and development of technology experimental bases at colleges.

d) Group of solutions for management:

- Develop and promulgate specific criteria for establishing universities and colleges, opening training majors. Study amendments and supplements to the regulations and operational rules of various types of universities to meet new requirements;

- Implement mass quality assessment and accreditation activities for higher education; regularly rank universities and colleges;

- Establish a Center for Forecasting Human Resource Demand to provide comprehensive and accurate statistical data, information, and forecasts to serve planning and development of the industry and educational institutions;

- Promote diversification in fields and areas for single-field universities and colleges;

- Consolidate and enhance the training capacity and quality of teacher training schools and technical teacher training schools;

- Study the management hierarchy of universities and colleges in accordance with practical conditions. The Ministry of Education and Training will focus on state management of higher education, key universities, leading universities, and universities with foreign investment;

- Strengthen management of enrollment and training work of schools to meet quality assurance criteria stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training;

- Develop and promulgate specific policies to promote socialization in education, develop private universities, and universities with foreign investment;

||| 5. Implementation stages

a) From 2006 to 2010:

Along with establishing new high-quality schools that align with planning, efforts should concentrate on reinforcing and increasing investment; expanding land areas, supplementing faculty members, equipment, and infrastructure, improving the training quality of current higher education institutions; researching, adjusting, and supplementing mechanisms and policies to reform and strengthen the management of higher education quality.

b) From 2011 to 2020:

Focus on developing the faculty force, raising the quality of universities and colleges to a new level; promoting international integration, applying advanced training programs; making fundamental changes in teaching methods at schools; continuing to develop and expand the network of universities and colleges in a suitable manner according to the Planning.

Article 2. Implementation of the Planning

The Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for leading and coordinating with relevant ministries, agencies, localities, universities, and colleges to concretize the contents of this Planning into specific implementation programs and plans to guide, organize, and implement annually and during each phase, regularly compile and report the results of the Planning to the Prime Minister.

Ministries, sectors, localities, and higher education institutions have the responsibility to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training to thoroughly understand and implement this Planning; proactively build orientations and development plans to consolidate the network of universities and colleges under their jurisdiction and in their respective areas, contributing to gradually improving the quality of the national network of universities and colleges in line with set goals and tasks.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

This Decision replaces Decision No. 47/2001/QĐ-TTg dated April 4, 2001 of the Prime Minister approving the Planning of the Network of Universities and Colleges for the period 2001-2010.

Article 4. THE MINISTERS, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL MINISTRIES, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL AGENCIES, AND CHAIRMEN OF PROVINCE AND CITY PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THIS DECISION./.