HCM CITY — An amended higher education law should create a clear legal environment for public universities to become autonomous, representatives of universities have urged.

The largest barriers to achieving autonomy are in the areas of personnel and finance, they said.

There are 23 public universities in the country slated to operate independently at different levels.

Speaking at a conference on autonomy policies held yesterday in HCM City, the university representatives said new regulations should allow them to attract investment from the private sector and carry out training services that could diversify their sources of revenue.

Hồ Thanh Phong, rector of the HCM City International University, said that preferential policies and tax incentives should be offered to private investors.

Dr Đỗ Văn Dũng, rector of the HCM City University of Technology and Education, said the outdated mindset about management should be changed and that the government should manage only 50 per cent of university affairs.

Other representatives said that tuition should be calculated based on the quality of training and the amount of revenue needed for expenditures.

Professor Phạm Phụ of the HCM City University of Technology said the cost to educate each student was still too low, around US$1,000 each year.

This should be raised to $2,100 per student annually, Phụ said, adding that students would have to pay tuition representing 50 per cent of the total.

He said the Government should also develop a larger fund to provide loans for poor students.

Nguyễn Văn Phúc, deputy minister of education and training, said that the amended law would institutionalise regulations on university autonomy and help universities operate more effectively. — VNS