Many pedagogy universities and colleges nationwide have begun to offer more training programmes other than teaching in recent years, as students turn to other fields that are more lucrative, according to educators.

Pham Vu Luat, rector of the Dak Lak Pedagogy College, said the number of teachers for schools in many provinces and cities had been sufficient in recent years, causing difficulty for graduates to find jobs.

In addition, parents and students had become less interested because of teachers\' low salaries.

Many more students were registering in the non-teaching faculties at pedagogy universities and colleges, Luat said.

Le Thi Hoa, vice rector of the Thua Thien-Hue Pedagogy College, said changing the pedagogy college and university to comprehensive educational institutions was necessary because of the small local budgets.

Dr Le Ngoc Tra, former head of the HCM City Institute for Educational Research, said the Ministry of Education and Training should review investment in pedagogy universities and colleges and create policies to attract more applicants to pedagogy faculties.

Many pedagogy colleges have changed to comprehensive ones, including Bac Kan, Hai Duong, Vinh Phuc, Binh Dinh and Can Tho. The Thua Thien-Hue Pedagogy College is waiting for approval to change into a comprehensive one.

For the upcoming school year, the ratio of unspecialised faculties to specialised ones at the Thua Thien-Hue Pedagogy College will be 16/8; 8/4 for the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Pedagogy College; and 6/3 for the Kon Tum Pedagogy College.

The HCM City Pedagogy University will have 12 non-pedagogy faculties out of its total 31 for the upcoming school year.

In addition, of its 22 faculties, the Hanoi Pedagogy University No2 has 11 non-pedagogy faculties.

Le Van Don, vice rector of the Tra Vinh University and former rector of the Tra Vinh Pedagogy College, said the college had merged into the Tra Vinh University because the number of applicants for the college\'s pedagogy faculties was too low.

Three or four years ago, the university stopped enrolling students for pedagogy faculties in maths, physics, chemistry, biology and computers.

The university, however, is enrolling students in the pedagogy faculties of kindergarten and primary education.

For the upcoming school year, the university would enrol students in eight faculties, and six of them would be non-pedadogy ones, he added.