Overall responsibility for the accreditation within the Vietnamese education system rests with the National Accreditation Council, which was established in 2008. The NAC, which is part of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), administers the current accreditation regime in cooperation with the General Department for Educational Testing and Accreditation (GDETA). University accreditation is based largely on a system of self-assessment by institutes of higher learning. Institutes are required to self-assess themselves on the basis of the 2007 accreditation framework, which relies on 10 standards and 61 criteria. Many universities and colleges have institutional-level quality assurance centres and teams to carry out this process. However, progress towards universal accreditation within the higher education sector remains painfully slow.
a) International regulatory and policy frameworks
Quality assurance agencies in Vietnam participate in the ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN), the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and the Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN).
b) Regional agreements
Vietnam is party to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Agreement (AANZFTA). This agreement is expected to increase the presence of educational providers from Australia and New Zealand in Vietnam by reducing institutional barriers to entry.
c) National regulations and policy
Education Law (2005)
Higher Education Law (2010)
Directive on renovating higher education management for the period of 2010 – 2012
14th Draft Strategy for Education Development Vietnam 2009 - 2020 [in Vietnamese]
Education Law (Law No 38/2005/QH11) National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Eleventh Legislature, Seventh Session (from 5th May to 14th June, 2005)
National Education for All (EFA) Action Plan 2003-2015
d) State/District regulations and policy
None identified.
e) University policies
Vietnam’s higher education system is currently in transition from a rigid, statist model to one in which institutions have increased administrative and financial autonomy. The Vietnamese Government has indicated its intention to provide institutions with increased autonomy, accountability and internal capacity for quality assurance. However, levels of autonomy differ between institutions and the great majority have little real control over their own activities. For these universities, the reality is that the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) sets quotas on enrolments, the content of curricula, decides tuition fees and academic salaries, and interfere with academic promotions.