VietNamNet Bridge - Even with a 29 score for three exam subjects (each on a 10-point scale), many students have not been accepted by the schools they chose, leading to questions about the fairness of the enrollment scheme.

V.H.H, a student from HCMC, got a 9.6 score in math, 9.75 in chemistry and 10 in biology, or a total score of 29.35. The student applied to HCMC Medical and Pharmaceutical University as the first choice, Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University as the second, the HCMC National University as the third and the Can Tho Medical & Pharmaceutical University as the fourth.

According to the score rounding rule, the student’s score would be 29.25. This is the minimum required score students must have to apply for the HCMC Medical and Pharmaceutical University.

However, the school also set many other subordinate requirements: students must get a 9 score at least on an English exam and 9.75 in biology. Since the student got an 8.8 score in English, she was not accepted.

Even with a 29 score for three exam subjects (each on a 10-point scale), many students have not been accepted by the schools they chose, leading to questions about the fairness of the enrollment scheme.

H said she was the victim of the score rounding rule. She got a 29.35 score and she failed because she could not meet subordinate requirements. 

Meanwhile, the students who got a 29.15 score could successfully apply for the school because their score was 29.25 in accordance with the score rounding rule and they satisfied subordinate requirements.

A lecturer at the Hanoi Medical University said that MOET also needs to reconsider the exam questions. He stressed that the record high results on this year’s high school finals show problems in exam questions. 

Reports from 63 local education departments show that more than 4,000 exam papers  got 10/10 scores at the high school finals, an abnormally high number compared with 68 exam papers which had a 10/10 score last year.

On education internet forums, people have noted that ‘there is something wrong’ in such a high number of students who got a 10/10 score. The problem is that the questions were too easy.

The lecturer said that the high scores were the result of the enrollment scheme, and were not due to the students’ capability.

Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, director of MOET’s University Education Department, denied that the required exam scores set by schools this year are too high. 

She affirmed that the required scores set by most schools are between 18 and 26, and that only some faculties at the most prestigious schools require high scores of 29 or more.

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