Many universities and colleges around the country, especially public institutions, have introduced counselling to enable students to choose appropriate courses.

The Vietnam National University\'s International College has held 14 counselling sessions in HCM City and other provinces since the middle of last month.

Assoc Prof Dr Ho Thanh Phong, its rector, said the university hoped to help students understand its training programmes clearly.

It has also set up 12 hotlines for providing counselling and carried up-to-date enrolment information on its website, he said.

Career counsellors at 80 high schools in several provinces from central Quang Nam to the south have been visiting the University of Technical Education to gather information for their students. The University has been partly funding their trips.

Assoc Prof Dr Do Van Dung, the University\'s deputy rector, said it had found that high-school students in other provinces and their parents did not have much information about his university.

Like companies, universities too had to try hard to find and enrol good students, he added. Nong Lam University in HCM City\'s Thu Duc District has dispatched personnel to provinces to meet students at 20 high schools, answered their questions on enrolment, and provided advice. The Ha Noi-based University of Fire Fighting and Prevention took part in enrolment programmes held by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in HCM City, Can Tho, Da Nang, and Ha Noi to provide information to prospective students.

Tran Van Dong, deputy head of recruitment at the university, admitted the number of students and parents who knew about his university was very low.

The programme hoped to increase that number, he added.

Self promotion

Some universities and colleges went to high schools in provinces merely to advertise themselves and not to provide counselling.

Le Thi My Ha of Thong Nhat High School in southern Dong Nai Province said representatives from many HCM City universities and colleges, especially private ones, had visited her school.

"I do not know which university to choose after reading their brochures," she said.

Huynh Van Hoa, a teacher of Tu Nghia High School in central Quang Ngai Province, said his students had complained that some private universities and colleges from HCM City did not provide trustworthy information and that their quality was low.

Basic and objective information on enrolment and career orientation was essential for students in rural areas, he said.