Vietnam Fines 20 Universities, Colleges for Enrolment Violations

The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has fined 20 colleges and universities nationwide for violating enrolment regulations last year, state media reported on Feb 17. Fourteen of the institutions exceeded the number of permitted enrollees by 20%-38%, Deputy Minister Bui Van Ga said, giving no details about specific fines. As many as 133 out of 176 universities and 152 out of 212 colleges across the country had submitted their enrolment numbers for the upcoming school year and more than 90 had been found to enroll students exceeding their capacity. The ministry is applying the “three commons” regulation, under which same exam questions, exam dates and exam results are used for all universities and colleges in enrolling students. Last year, many universities and colleges complained about the enrollment regulation, which made them unable to enroll enough students. Experts even warned that more education institutions would go bankrupt unless the ministry makes changes in the enrollment regulation. (An Ninh Thu Do – Capital’s Security Feb 17 p1)