Masters who teach in the wrong field must retake master's degree

Today (September 30), Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade issued a notice to review and register lecturers to attend advanced training courses.

Accordingly, this university requires lecturers with a master's degree who are teaching in a field that is not suitable for master's training to retake a master's degree in a field that meets teaching requirements or transfer to a faculty with a university training field suitable for the master's degree. The deadline for completion is 3 years from the date of announcement.

“If the first year student does not register for the course, the assessment of the work results of that school year will only be considered as completing the task. If the second year student has not registered, the assessment of the work results of that school year will be considered as not completing the task. If the master's degree is not submitted to the school at the end of the third year, the assessment will continue to be considered as not completing the task and the use of civil servants will be re-evaluated because the task has not been completed for 2 consecutive years,” the school's announcement clearly stated the handling of lecturers who do not study according to regulations.

Also in this announcement, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade requires female lecturers under 45 years old and male lecturers under 50 years old who have a master's degree to study for a doctorate. Lecturers must register to participate in the doctoral entrance exam within 3 years from the date of announcement.

In the case of not registering for a doctorate in the first year as required, the lecturer's work results for that academic year will be assessed as only completing the task. At the end of the second year, if he/she has not registered, the lecturer's work results for that academic year will be assessed as not completing the task. At the end of the third year, if he/she has not registered, the lecturer will continue to be assessed as not completing the task and the use of civil servants will be re-evaluated because he/she has not completed the task for 2 consecutive years.

“When registering, lecturers must plan their study progress, expected time to complete the course and receive their diploma. The duration of the PhD study must not exceed 6 years,” the school announcement stated.

Why does the school require lecturers to have a doctorate?

Sharing with Thanh Nien Newspaper reporter, representative of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade confirmed the above information.

According to the school representative, the purpose of this review is to improve the quality and professional qualifications in management and teaching of the teaching staff; to meet the conditions and standards of a university education institution according to the circular. Currently, the proportion of lecturers with a doctorate degree or higher at the school is about 38% of the total number of lecturers in the school.

According to Circular 01 promulgating standards for university education institutions of the Ministry of Education and Training, effective from March 2024, the proportion of full-time lecturers with doctoral degrees must not be lower than 20% and from 2030 not lower than 30% for university education institutions that do not train doctoral degrees; not lower than 5% and from 2030 not lower than 10% for schools that train specialized fields that do not train doctoral degrees.

For universities with doctoral training, the rate will not be lower than 40% and from 2030, it will not be lower than 50%. For specialized training schools with doctoral training, it will not be lower than 10% and from 2030, it will not be lower than 15%.

Before this announcement from the school, Master HTT (lecturer of the Faculty of Business Administration), commented: "Even if the school does not require it, I still plan to continue studying for a doctorate. When determining the position of lecturer, studying to improve qualifications to serve teaching and research activities is necessary. On the contrary, lecturers who already have the ability to teach and research, continuing to study at a higher level is not difficult."

Previously, at the end of June, Ha Tinh University issued a decision on classifying civil servants and contract workers according to the academic year. Many lecturers were assessed as “not completing their duties” for not signing a commitment to study for a doctorate as required by Ha Tinh University.