GDVN - The first Vietnam Private Higher Education Forum (FOVPHE1) was recently held in Ho Chi Minh City.
On November 11, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Higher Education Quality Assurance Network Club (under the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges) coordinated with Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City to organize the first Vietnam Private Higher Education Forum (FOVPHE1), with the participation of leaders of 40 private universities, along with 250 delegates from universities, research institutes, quality assessment centers, international organizations, and representatives of state management agencies in the field of education and higher education.
Private higher education institutions must quickly assert their position and contribution.
Speaking at the opening of the forum, Dr. Tran Viet Anh - Vice Principal in charge of Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City, said that Resolution 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo issued on August 22, 2025 on breakthroughs in education and training development has set many goals but also extremely challenging for the entire education system, especially higher education. In particular, private higher education is identified to play a key role, both as an important supplementary force and a direct driving force for development.
Dr. Tran Viet Anh - Vice Principal in charge of Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City delivered the opening speech of the forum. Photo: Organizing Committee
At the same time, Resolution 68-NQ/TW issued on May 4, 2025 on private economic development also affirmed that the private sector is the most important driving force of the national economy, pioneering in innovation, science and technology development and digital transformation.
“These two major resolutions not only create a strategic vision, but also set an urgent requirement that private higher education institutions must quickly take the initiative, affirm their position, mission and contribution,” Dr. Tran Viet Anh stated his point of view.
In his opening speech at the forum, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, Head of the Vietnam Higher Education Quality Assurance Network Club, affirmed that from the practice of developing the higher education system in the world, it has been shown that private universities can absolutely rise to lead in a number of fields.
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc delivered the keynote speech at the forum. Photo: Forum Organizing Committee.
A typical example is Stanford University (USA) after World War II, which has risen thanks to focusing on developing the fields of technology and engineering, contributing significantly to the establishment of many start-up companies, creating Silicon Valley, currently ranked 3rd in the world according to the QS rankings.
Waseda University in Japan is also a famous private university for training in the fields of economics and society, ranked 196th in the world.
Yensei University in Korea and Korea University are ranked 50th and 67th in the world, respectively, both are famous private universities, ranked 2nd and 3rd in Korea, just after Seoul University.
“The successes and leadership of these universities are proof and a strong source of encouragement and motivation for Vietnamese private universities to boldly invest and develop,” said Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc.
Speaking at the forum, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang - Principal of Dai Nam University, said that the private university system is facing many opportunities, but there are still 3 challenges, which are:
First: Finance and facilities. The revenue of private schools still depends mainly on tuition fees, while operating costs are high, especially investment in facilities.
Second: Human resources are still limited due to a shortage of good lecturers, due to weak income and career development policies.
Third: The governance model has not been innovated, still traditional. Besides, the reputation has not been improved, so it is still the second choice of candidates, after public universities.
Many leaders of private higher education institutions in the South attended this forum. Photo: Organizing Committee
At this forum, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Loc - former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, former Principal of Ba Ria - Vung Tau University, expressed his views on the phenomenon of "blurred borders" that has hindered the development of private higher education in Vietnam.
According to Professor, Dr. Nguyen Loc, that is the boundary between the public and private sectors - where the "border" is unclear and is blurring the role, mission, and autonomy of private universities.
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Loc gave an example, for example, in the past, the financial source of public schools was the budget, and that of private schools was tuition fees, but now both are a mixture of public and private sources. In the past, public schools had administrative management, private schools were flexible, but now both apply autonomous and business models.
Proposal to have separate law for private higher education
Sharing international experience on the private higher education model following the ABC method (Academic – Business – Corporate Governance), Lawyer Nguyen Kim Dung – Director of Legal Affairs and External Affairs, British University Vietnam, said that although the private university system in Vietnam was formed from the socialization policy in the late 90s of the last century, the legal framework on investment forms and investment capital management, academic management is still unclear.
According to Lawyer Nguyen Kim Dung, this has limited the role and contribution of the private higher education sector to the national education system. Therefore, building a legal framework based on the application of the ABC integrated governance model is essential to guide the establishment and operation model of private higher education institutions, improve governance capacity and promote the sustainable development of private higher education in Vietnam.
The representative of British University Vietnam also gave an example at the forum: in Singapore, there is a developed private higher education system, because of the flexible application of the ABC model, while in Malaysia, there is a Law on Private Higher Education and the ABC model has been generalized in the law.
In which, this model clearly stipulates the rights and responsibilities of investors, the governance model, and the responsibilities of the school board for academics.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang made a recommendation at the forum that it is necessary to perfect the legal corridor, that is, when amending the Law on Higher Education, clarify the legal status and governance mechanism of the private higher education system.
"In addition, private schools need to be equal in education and finance policies, access to state resources like public schools, and enjoy incentives on land, taxes, credit, and public-private partnerships...", Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang emphasized.
Delegates attending the forum took a souvenir photo. Photo: DHV.
Within the framework of the forum, important cooperation signing ceremonies took place, aiming to promote the development of open education and training and integration with the region and the world.
The signing units include: SEAMEO Regional Center for Lifelong Learning in Vietnam (SEAMEO CELL), Hung Vuong University in Ho Chi Minh City, Dai Nam University and Yersin University.
These memorandums of understanding aim to promote cooperation in training, research, quality assessment and development of educational human resources in the era of digital transformation and international integration, contributing to building a learning society and developing Vietnamese people to become global citizens.
According to Vietnam Education Electronic Magazine