A merger born of necessity

Before the merger, both colleges operated on a small scale with scattered resources. Điện Biên College of Economics and Technology was licensed to train 10 college-level majors, 14 intermediate majors, and 21 elementary majors, with a student capacity of 1,860. From 2022-2024, it trained 3,126 learners. However, many programs such as Finance-Banking, Crop Science, Animal Husbandry, and Forestry either failed to attract students or had very low enrollment.

Điện Biên Vocational College faced similar issues. Despite employing 113 staff and maintaining classrooms, labs, and practice workshops, the school struggled to recruit for programs such as Forestry, Construction Engineering, Business Accounting, and Social Work. Between 2022 and 2024, it trained 8,976 learners, but with students spread thin across programs, many classes lacked sufficient numbers, wasting infrastructure.

In addition, both schools offered overlapping majors such as Business Accounting, Information Technology, Office Computing, Construction Engineering, and Forestry. This led to fragmented investments, low efficiency, and competition for the same student pool.

Meanwhile, administrative staff made up a large proportion of personnel, and management capacity in training, university partnerships, and business networks for internships and employment remained limited. Developing new programs in line with provincial socio-economic needs was hindered by a shortage of highly qualified lecturers and concentrated resources.

In this context, with demand for high-quality human resources increasing, merging became inevitable to streamline the system, pool resources, improve training quality, and better meet labor market needs both within and outside the province.

Stabilizing organization, ensuring continuity

Understanding the challenges of the transition, Điện Biên College’s leadership acted decisively to stabilize operations. According to Principal Dr. Trần Bá Uẩn, the timing of the merger, at the start of a new academic year, was an advantage, allowing the school to reorganize facilities and staff promptly.

Following the decision, the Board of Rectors met to assign responsibilities clearly to the principal and three vice principals, ensuring smooth operations with no leadership gap. The school is streamlining its structure, reducing from 11 faculties, 9 offices, and 3 affiliated units across the two former schools to 8 faculties, 4 offices, and 3 units, a 37.5% cut in departments.

Dr. Uẩn emphasized: “Staff appointments are being carried out carefully and transparently. Faculty and office leaders are chosen based on ethical standards, expertise, management skills, and experience. Our top priority is building a united leadership team capable of carrying the new responsibilities.”

For students, the center of all educational activities, the school has ensured rights and stability. More than 800 students were transferred without disruption; all support policies remain intact. Existing curricula continue to be used while overlapping programs are being reviewed and streamlined to ensure coherence and academic rigor. Despite the workload, teaching and learning activities have remained stable, avoiding disruptions for both staff and students.

Aiming to become a high-quality college

The merger is more than just an expansion, it is a springboard for Điện Biên College to pursue its long-term vision: becoming a high-quality vocational college, a trusted center for human resources, scientific research, and technology transfer to support provincial and regional socio-economic development.

Principal Trần Bá Uẩn outlined the school’s strategy: “By 2030, we aim to be a multi-disciplinary college training at all three levels, college, intermediate, and elementary, with several flagship programs meeting national, regional, and even international standards. We also plan to open new majors aligned with the province’s socio-economic development priorities.”

To achieve this, the school is conducting a comprehensive review of its programs, retaining those with strong enrollment and social demand, phasing out outdated ones, and investing in new majors in key sectors such as tourism, high-tech agriculture, cross-border trade, and logistics. With an enrollment capacity of over 3,000 students and an annual intake of 1,200-1,400, the school is shifting its focus from quantity to quality.

The merger also strengthens faculty and infrastructure. With a larger, more qualified teaching staff, including 5 PhDs and nearly 100 master’s holders, the school is well-positioned to launch high-quality programs and expand research.

While challenges remain, the merger has opened a promising new chapter for Điện Biên College. With a solid foundation, clear strategy, and unified resources, the college is poised to become a leading vocational institution, contributing significantly to the province’s sustainable development.