HCM CITY — Greater autonomy is one of the solutions to help Vietnamese universities meet international standards and integrate globally, but this must come with responsibilities and transparency, said National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân at a meeting with lecturers and students of Việt Nam National University HCM City yesterday at the start of the new school year.

Ngân said that the school’s responsibility will require educational institutes to “survive” by their quality, not by short-term solutions.

The NA chairwoman urged the Việt Nam National University HCM City to focus on improving its training quality and teacher’s creativity to educate young students.

She asked the university to promote scientific research activities to develop the university into a high-quality scientific research and technology transfer centre.

The university needs to soon complete the construction of Việt Nam’s first university urban area.

“The Việt Nam National University HCM City urban area along with a hi-tech area and cultural village of ethnic groups located at the city’s gateway, the centre of key economic zone in southeast region, will not only belong to the university but also will become a scientific and cultural centre of the region,” she said.

During a speech to students, Ngân mentioned the State’s supervising role in creating and developing the higher education environment.

“The role of the State is not to control but to create rules and supervise their implementation,” she said.

She said that Ministry of Education and Training along with national universities will help make changes regarding curricula and training methods towards global integration. Educational institutes should be granted the right to have their own recruitment criteria and take responsibility in terms of training quality.

Việt Nam National University HCM City is the first unit in the country to make training innovations and launch the training of talented students and engineers.

This year, Việt Nam National University HCM City and Việt Nam National University Hà Nội have become the first two universities in Việt Nam to be listed by Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings of the UK among the top 1,000 excellent universities in the world. — VNS