The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is proposing new rules that would cap bonus points awarded for international English certificates such as IELTS and require universities to publish standardized conversion tables for 2026 university admissions.

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The proposed changes are part of a draft regulation currently open for public feedback. One of the key adjustments would reduce the maximum bonus points students can receive for holding certificates like IELTS from 3 to 1.5 points out of a total of 30.

According to the draft, bonus points include those awarded for achievements in national and international academic contests (if students do not use their right to direct admission), special talents, or international certificates. However, each bonus category will now be capped at 1.5 points, ensuring no student can receive more than that for an IELTS certificate alone.

Additionally, universities will be allowed to convert IELTS and other language certificates into scores on the 10-point scale for English-language subject evaluation in admission combinations. But English will not be allowed to carry more than 10 points within the 30-point total.

Importantly, the ministry also proposes that institutions must publish conversion tables with at least five score intervals, depending on actual IELTS band levels. This change targets the current practice in which some universities convert wide IELTS bands - such as 6.5 and 9.0 - into the same score of 10, which creates unfair advantages for some students.

Under the draft regulation, English certificates may only be used in one of two ways: either converted into scores or used for bonus points - not both. This would put an end to the practice of awarding points twice for a single achievement, which has created disproportionate advantages for IELTS holders in recent years.

Last year, some universities converted IELTS into very high English scores while also granting an additional 0.5–3 points in bonus, allowing those students to dominate English-heavy admission combinations. This practice led to sharply rising cut-off scores in English-based subject groups, putting students without IELTS at a disadvantage.

Moreover, each university currently applies its own IELTS-to-score conversion method, which results in inconsistencies. A student with 6.5 IELTS could be awarded 10 points at one school and only 8 at another, regardless of the actual difficulty of the year’s national exam.

A senior admissions official from a major Hanoi university agreed with the proposed changes, arguing that MOET should enforce a unified conversion framework to ensure consistency and fairness.

Dr. Le Anh Duc, Director of Academic Affairs at the National Economics University, also supported the move. He noted that while IELTS is becoming increasingly common, it reflects language skills, not necessarily core academic aptitude.

“A student’s readiness for higher education should be judged primarily through core academic assessments like the high school graduation exam or national aptitude tests,” Dr. Duc said. “Overweighting IELTS in admissions compromises fairness. The new cap and unified conversion guidelines will ensure better balance and system-wide consistency.”

 
Thuy Nga