The Prime Minister has approved a plan to organize the 2020 high school finals submitted by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).

Instead of a 2-in-1 exam used to both examine the ability of high school students to recognize their completion of general education and provide information to universities when enrolling students, this year’s exam will serve the first purpose only.

The high school examination will be held later than every year before which will be in August.

Hanoi National University on April 22 announced that it will enroll students through three ways: based on their outstanding achievements (who meet the requirements set by MOET and the university); based on scholastic assessment tests, and based on their learning records at high school.

Universities are expected to set up their own methods to enroll students this year instead of using the results of the national high school finals.

The scholastic assessment tests, expected to be organized in July, will comprise mathematics test (90 minutes), essays (60 minutes), foreign languages (60 minutes) and social/natural sciences (60 minutes).

Hanoi National University plans to enroll 10,320 students this year for 131 majors/programs, including 14 new majors.

Ngo Minh Xuan, rector of the Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University, said that medical schools plan to join forces to organize an exam for the schools. If the schools cannot reach a consensus on organizing such an exam, Pham Ngoc Thach will design an enrollment plan of its own.

Rectors of other schools said their schools will still refer to the results of the high school finals to enroll students this year, though MOET says this is not a ‘2-in-1 exam’.

Bui Duc Trieu, head of the Training Division of the Hanoi Economics University, said the results of the high school finals will still reflect students’ abilities, and therefore, it is fair to consider the results of the exam to assess students.

The opinions about this year’s enrollment plans vary. Some education experts have expressed concern about the quality of students when the 2-in-1 exam is no longer organized.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Le Ninh, a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, applauded the idea of giving autonomy to schools in enrolling students.

He said universities need to enroll students based on their training capability, while the MOET needs to supervise and examine the training quality of the schools. Only students with good abilities can graduate from universities.

Chi Mai 

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