VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is planning the reform the exam mechanism, striving to organize exams in a less stressful and costly way.

Innovation needed for Vietnam

Under the plan being drafted by MOET, students would have only two exam subjects for the finals, while universities would decide themselves whether to organize entrance exams or they would enroll students after considering their learning records.

The exam questions would be designed in the way which would require students to use their comprehensive disciplinary knowledge in natural and social sciences to solve problems. It is highly possible that students would have two exams of math and literature.

According to MOET, the exam questions would not aim to find out what students learned, but to check how they learned, and if they utilize the knowledge they received at school. Therefore, the exams would allow assessing students’ capability.

In other words, the exam questions would not aim to verify the students’ memory, but aim to test their creativeness and other skills.

According to the MOET’s Steering Committee on renovating the curriculums and textbooks, after 2015, the new exam mechanism would help assess students’ capability more exactly and fairly. Especially, it would help ease the financial burden on the state budget, MOET and schools when organizing exams.

Regarding the enrolment for junior colleges and universities, from 2015, the schools would be allowed to enroll students based on the students’ learning records at high schools. The schools would have the right to decide whether to organize entrance exams, when and how. Especially, there would be no national university entrance exams.

Worries exist

The determination by MOET to renovate the national education and training system, including the exam mechanism has been applauded by the public. However, experts still keep arguing about how to renovate the system.

Some educators have doubts that the finals, with just two exam subjects – math and literature – would assess the students’ capability exactly.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, Headmaster of the Dinh Tien Hoang High School, said only math and literature exams are not enough for the finals which aim to assess the comprehensive ability of students.

Lam stressed that the finals would examine the basic knowledge and assess the students’ ability to utilize the knowledge in reality, therefore, students need to show their knowledge in many different fields.

“It is necessary to have more than two exam subjects, because the exam results would be referred to by junior colleges and universities when enrolling students,” Lam said.

He went on to say that a lot of students may have bad marks from the finals, because they are bad at math and literature. Therefore, it would be better for them to have many exam subjects.

Meanwhile, some teachers have warned that if students only have to attend two exams of math and literature, they would not spend time on learning other subjects.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong and her research team from the Vietnam Education Science Institute have suggested to organize two finals a year, in March and May.

Mai Chi