Developing Diverse Types of Higher Education in Vietnam: Assessing the Achievements and Challenges of the Local State Universities

In the context of educational reform, Vietnam has initiated a policy of expanding the network and types of higher education institutions to satisfy the country's human resource needs during the industrialization and modernization period. This policy resulted in the establishment of the local state university system, which has involved in the development of higher education, training human resources for the localities. The findings indicate that local state universities have a significant impact on the advancement of Vietnamese higher education. Some local state universities have developed a scale and training structure suitable for the characteristics of each region, ensuring quality and efficiency while integrating into the Vietnamese higher education system. Despite their contributions, a significant number of such universities have struggled to identify strategic directions and mobilize available resources. While these institutions have introduced valuable innovations to Vietnamese higher education, they also pose a challenge to the Vietnamese higher education system that requires restructuring and policy revisions at both the micro and macro levels.