The draft Law on Higher Education (amended) is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly.
The draft Law has many new regulations, with breakthroughs compared to the current Law. However, some opinions suggested continuing to improve regulations on university autonomy; clarifying treatment policies for university lecturers, creating a solid legal corridor for high-quality human resource training activities.
National Assembly delegate Bui Thi Quynh Tho (Ha Tinh delegation) hopes that the draft Law will add one thing related to higher education planning, in which, two types of universities should be planned: multi-disciplinary schools and single-disciplinary schools.
Accordingly, the determination of the single-disciplinary university model aims to orient universities according to this model to train specialized majors, avoiding the current widespread training.
Current reality shows that universities are free to open training majors, for example, technical schools also open economic majors or economic schools also open other majors.
The regulation on single-disciplinary universities will help focus on a specific field and promote the capacity of the teaching staff as well as the training strengths of the school - delegate Quynh Tho said.
With the removal of regulations on autonomy and accountability of higher education institutions stipulated in Article 32 of the current Law on Higher Education, the delegate of Ha Tinh delegation found that the draft Law removes this content because there is a provision in the general regulation.
However, the regulation on autonomy and accountability in Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 3 is just a terminological explanation.
According to the delegate, the regulation of autonomy in academics, human resource organization and accountability are important contents in implementing a modern and advanced education model. Therefore, it is necessary to regulate the autonomous contents in the activities of universities.
National Assembly delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Vinh Long delegation) said that although the draft Law has affirmed that higher education institutions have the right to autonomy, it still comes with many conditions and procedures for approval from the Ministry of Education and Training as well as management agencies.
Typically, opening a major, determining enrollment targets, and approving training programs must still be considered by competent authorities.
This is not in line with the spirit of comprehensive autonomy of Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW dated August 22, 2025 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development, in which university autonomy is emphasized as a pillar and lever for Vietnamese higher education to break through.
Autonomy is not only financial autonomy but also comprehensive autonomy in academics, organizational structure, personnel and finance. For that reason, the delegate suggested, supplement and clearly stipulate in Article 3 or Article 7 of the draft Law - the delegate suggested.
