On July 13, 2024, Lao Dong Newspaper published an article "Clarifying accusations of "super-speed" PhDs and PhD plagiarism is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Training", in which it stated a very clear point of view, bringing to light doctoral theses accused of plagiarism and "super-speed", tracing to the end the process of studying a master's or doctoral program, clarifying the responsibilities of the supervisor, the thesis review board and handling them seriously, in accordance with the provisions of the law, only then can scientific research activities be rectified, bringing the works back to reality.
But up to now, both the accusations of plagiarized doctoral theses and "super-fast" doctoral theses have not yet had conclusions from responsible agencies.
Regarding the doctoral thesis accused of plagiarism, Hue University has postponed it twice, but still has not resolved it. The latest extension, on September 17, Hue University said that it had issued a notice on the extension of the complaint settlement. Accordingly, in order to carry out the relevant procedures and conclude the complaint settlement, the Director of Hue University issued a decision to extend the complaint settlement. The extension period is 30 days, starting from September 13, 2024. The deadline has now expired.
Regarding the "super-fast" doctoral thesis case, on June 2, the Ministry of Education and Training issued an urgent document, requesting Hanoi Law University to urgently report and send it to the Ministry by June 26, 2024. Up to now, more than three months have passed, with complete silence.
Because of that silence, at the National Assembly forum on October 9, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh expressed his opinion: "In 2024, public opinion will be stirred up by the case of "fake scholars, real degrees" at the highest level of training. However, the state management agency of education has not yet had a satisfactory, public, and transparent handling measure with the public."
The problem of "fake degrees, real degrees" at the highest level of training that Mr. Vu Hong Thanh mentioned is also a concern of the whole society. There have been many accusations about "incubator" PhDs, "super-fast" PhDs, and "plagiarized" PhDs, which have made society skeptical about dishonest, poor quality, and even negative signs of PhD degrees.
I strongly agree with the viewpoint of "properly handling, publicly and transparently with public opinion" of Chairman of the Economic Committee of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh, this is the way to rectify the current shortcomings and negative aspects of doctoral training.
The development of the country requires substantial scientific works, talented scientists and a progressive, quality and honest education.
Scientific works and doctoral theses without substance are also a type of waste that needs to be eliminated.
