How many phD students in Laos now ? How many phD we can produce per year? How effective our phD students in their research? How many international paper they published? Can Lao phD students compare to Vietnam?
VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Minister of Education Banh Tien Long said his Ministry, on January 23, submitted to the Government the plans for the project to produce 20,000 doctors from now through 2020.
Mr. Long said that in order to fulfill the plan by 2020, Vietnam will have to produce 2,000 doctors a year.
In the last three years, the number of postgraduates seeking doctorate degrees has been increasing steadily: 1,352 postgraduates in 2005, 1,249 in 2006, and 1,402 in 2007. Therefore, according to Mr. Long, the target of 2,000 doctors every year from now to 2020 is within reach.
In preparation for the program, the Ministry of Education and Training has decided to establish three centers responsible for teaching foreign language skills to postgraduates who will be sent abroad for training.
It is expected that some 400-600 postgraduates will be sent abroad each year in the next few years, and that number will increase after that.
The three centers will be located at HanoiUniversity, Can Tho University and SEAMEOCenter.
Mr. Long said that in the first quarter of 2008, MOET will promulgate new regulations on training doctors which will see a lot of changes, aiming to improve the quality of doctorate theses, and thereby, improving the quality of PhDs in general.
The possible changes include:
1. Every postgraduate must have at least one article published in a prestigious foreign academic journal. The postgraduates of four subjects (arts, security, national defense and political science) will not be subject to the above requirement, but must have articles published in domestic journals.
2. MOET will not hold entrance exams to select postgraduates for PhD education
3. The minimum budget for every postgraduate will be VND110-120mil. Every postgraduate will have 3-6 months studying abroad. This policy will be applied only to university lecturers, who are researching and writing doctorate level theses.
4. If two postgraduates cannot complete doctorate theses, the lecturers, who guide the postgraduates must stop their work and give the reasons. If his third postgraduate also cannot complete a doctorate thesis, they are required to go on sabbatical for at least five years
5. MOET will add several subjects to the curriculum for doctorate training. Candidates will meet the requirements on foreign language skills (TOEFL 450) to be eligible for a doctorate degree. TOEFL 450 is considered enough to help postgraduates read documents in foreign languages.
