A lecturer from the Hà Nội University of Science and Technology holds an online class. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI – Almost half of all universities nationwide are turning to online tutoring to make sure students can keep up with their studies.

110 out of 240 universities across the country are offering online classes to students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The figures were revealed by Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy, acting head of the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)

Speaking at a teleconference entitled “online training at universities in the context of COVID-19 pandemic” held on Friday, Thủy said there were many reasons why a number of education establishments could not offer the same classes.

Many universities have no experience adopting this method of teaching and their infrastructure has not yet met the requirement. Lecturers still lack skills needed for online teaching while students, especially those in remote areas, have limited capability for online learning.

There are also a number of risks that must be taken into account, including cyber attackers as students study online.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyễn Văn Phúc said as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, localities and educational establishments have launched online learning and teaching to help students continue their studies.

The ministry has issued a number of documents asking provincial and municipal departments of education and training to enhance online learning.

It was a revision of regulations of full time training, which refers to the method of combining traditional and online training for schools to deploy in the future, he said.

"This teaching method has been applied in a number of developed countries, facilitating the learning of students as they can study at anytime, anywhere while promoting their self-study ability,” he said.

According to Phúc, the deployment of online training at higher education was classified into three levels.

The first level is the educational establishments which has a complete online training system. They have learning management system (LMS) and learning content management system (LCMS) so it was easy for the establishments to switch to online learning.

The second level concerns schools that have implemented LMS, a software application for the administration, tracking, reporting and delivery of courses.

The third level covers educational establishments that have offered online training but in a simpler way. They use live-video communication, Skype, email or social networks to connect lecturers and students.

The ministry encouraged schools to share materials and online courses. It has also worked with the Ministry of Information and Communications to create favourable condition for higher education establishments amid the spread of the disease.

Phúc said they should take advantage of the method as it offers more choices for students to learn, thereby improving the quality of higher education. –VNS