The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) vows to eliminate classes for the gifted at primary and secondary education levels. However, such classes still exist, just under other names.

 

MOET has unexpectedly decided to prohibit secondary schools from organizing entrance exams for sixth-grade enrolment. The decision was released just three months ahead of the new enrolment season.

Prof Van Nhu Cuong, a well-known educator in Hanoi, headmaster of Luong The Vinh Secondary School, said he still has not found any alternative solution to select students for his school.

“This is a question we cannot answer,” he said. Luong The Vinh, like many secondary schools in Hanoi, has been selecting students through entrance exams for years.

Commenting about the decision, analysts said MOET showed its strong determination to say ‘no’ to the establishment of classes for the gifted, with its intensive training curriculum in primary and secondary schools, except schools for arts and talented sports students.

The existence of the schools for the gifted has put a heavy burden on primary and secondary schools, because  young children should not be under pressure at an early age.

However, they said that schools for the gifted and classes for excellent students would still exist. 

The “no primary and secondary school for the gifted” policy was mentioned in 1996, when a the Communist Party’s Resolution was released. However, schools and classes for the gifted have existed since then.

An education expert noted that Vietnamese parents want to send their children to the most prestigious schools with the best facilities. 

The Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, for example, organizes entrance exams every year to select sixth graders. 

A report showed that 4,200 students attended last year’s exam, while only 200 were admitted.

In HCM City, Tran Dai Nghia School for the Gifted has existed for many years.

Many prestigious schools in Hanoi and HCM City also enroll sixth graders through entrance exams, because they believe this is the best way to select best students.

The expert said that it was not feasible to prohibit entrance exams. 

“Competition is necessary in these cases, when many people scramble for one thing,” he said.

A teacher of a well-known school for the gifted in Hanoi noted that MOET’s ban would do more harm than good.

“If the official entrance to schools for the gifted is closed, students will enter the schools through the back door,” he said.

“The entrance-fee would be applied instead of the entrance-exam,” he added, explaining that students would have to pay money for seats at the schools instead of attending entrance exams.

Tien Phong