Increasing numbers of Vietnamese are taking MA studies to progress in their careers. However, the quality of the courses is in doubt.

Holding a MA was becoming increasingly common in Vietnam

Many universities have expanded their postgraduate programmes in recent years.

Last year, Vietnam National University – Hanoi set a quota to train 4,000 MAs and 376 doctorates, compared to around 5,500 regular students.

Hanoi University of Transportation has enrolled 1,000 students for MA training for their first courses this year.

Associate Prof com Dr. Ngo Kim Thanh from the Hanoi-based National Economics University said that holding a MA was becoming increasingly common. However, despite the increasing number of students, the quality of the courses was in doubt.

He pointed out that a lecturer with a doctorate degree teaching dozens of MA students would result in substandard quality education.

Accoding to Thanh, most MA training programmes in Vietnam are in-service training courses, as the majority of students already had jobs. Due to limited time, many research students don’t hesitate in plagiarising already written theses.

Concerning economic theses, Associate Prof and Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang from the National Economics University said many research students had not spent enough time on their studies.

Thanh noted that some people who are in the process of accomplishing their doctorate thesis still could provide 1,000 teaching periods during a university a year or work elsewhere. Yet despite their other commitments most of them completed their studies as many universities didn’t dare to instruct their students to stop their other work.

Lack of attention

Quang also said that those who are responsible for instructing research students did not pay enough attention to their students, adding to the substandard quality.

Some instructors lacked experience in their subjects that their student proposed but still allowed them to do it.

Some others have not published any scientific works related to the proposed subject for the past five years or during the time they had worked as a lecturer. This meant that students received little help.

Research students have been criticised for not paying enough attention to organising and attending discussions on the subjects they are studying. Many just attend discussions once or twice a year, compared to at least four times per year as required by the Ministry of Education and Training.

In theory, the country stipulates three rounds of marking for a doctorate thesis and two rounds for an MA, but this practice is not strict enough.

Ngo Kim Thanh attributed the situation to incompetence by lecturers and being too liberal with their students.

Poor quality work by the students also was an example of the shortcomings, he added.