He made thestatement at an online dialogue on Changes in University and CollegeEnrollment of the year 2014, held on December 27 on the Government'sonline portal.
The statement was aimed to quellfears expressed by students about a recent draft regulation announced byMoET, under which universities would have more discretion over studentenrollment procedures from next year.
The draftregulation created an uproar from students concerned that the newenrollment procedures would undermine their current efforts for exampreparation.
Talking directly to student concerns,the official said the draft regulation required all universities toorganise their own enrollment procedures from 2017.
Universities across the country are currently following a genericenrollment procedure where students wanting to enter universities sitthe same entrance exams.
Ga said universities andstudents would need time to adapt to the changes, with the ministrysetting aside three years as a transition period for the new enrollmentmethods to come into effect.
"Students should staycalm and focus on their studying for the coming exams. The ministryunderstands that a sudden halt of the general enrollment procedureswould result in panic among students, so we will have three years to getused to the new concept and prepare for it," Ga said.
Ga also said that universities and colleges that wished to have theirown enrollment procedures for 2014 could submit proposals to theministry.
The deadline for the proposals has beenset for next February with the ministry announcing the list ofuniversities with separate enrollment plans in March.
"The general enrollment method has been in place for 10 years. Such amethod is out of date and not in synch with the education reformprocess," said the deputy minister for education, adding that educationreform needed to shift from passive learning to active learning with afocus on fostering individual student abilities.
Gaalso added that university enrollment exams needed to change to giveteachers and students proper teaching and flexible learning methods.
The new enrollment method will also allow universities to selectstudents who are most suitable for their training programmes, he added,saying that candidates will be able to choose from many opportunities.
"Universities and colleges can either organise exams, or interviewcandida tes for the enrollment procedure. So a student who isoutstanding at one field but less advantaged in other fields can stillhave a chance to be selected," said Ga.-VNA