Statistics from several Vietnamese universities show that the proportion of students graduating with excellent classifications has been increasing, particularly at economics and business institutions.

At National Economics University (NEU), more than 50% of nearly 8,000 graduates in 2026 received an excellent classification, the highest graduation category.

The figure was nearly 50% in 2025, compared with 38.5% in 2024.

At Foreign Trade University, the proportion of graduates receiving excellent classifications ranged from 25% to 35% between 2024 and 2026.

When graduates classified as good and excellent are combined, the proportion approached 80% in some graduation rounds.

By contrast, several other universities have reported significantly lower proportions of high-achieving graduates.

At Hanoi Medical University, none of the nearly 1,000 students graduating in 2026 received an excellent classification.

The proportion graduating with a good classification increased slightly to approximately 10%, its highest level in three years.

The university also recorded no graduates with excellent classifications in previous years.

Military institutions have reported similar results.

At the Military Technical Academy, no students graduated with excellent classifications in 2025, while approximately 10% received good classifications.

Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son recently expressed concern about the unusually high proportion of students graduating with excellent classifications at many universities, including major institutions.

"If it is so easy to achieve excellent results, do students still need to make an effort?" he asked.

In response, the Ministry of Education and Training has instructed universities to control grade inflation, avoid imposing predetermined proportions of high grades or good and excellent graduation classifications, and refrain from lowering academic standards to improve reported performance.

Do high rates of excellent graduates indicate lenient grading?

Explaining the high proportion of excellent graduates at National Economics University, Le Anh Duc, Head of the university's Academic Affairs Department, said one contributing factor was the conversion between the 10-point and four-point grading scales.

Under the four-point system, students scoring 8.5 out of 10 or higher receive the maximum grade-point value for that course.

Another factor is the university's steadily improving admission quality, with increasing numbers of incoming students holding international qualifications.

During their studies, students with an IELTS score of 6.5 or higher may be exempted from English courses and awarded the maximum corresponding grade, contributing to higher overall academic results.

A university leader in Hanoi also argued that differences in the proportion of excellent graduates should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of lenient or demanding assessment standards.

Universities differ in their academic disciplines, admission standards and assessment methods.

A high proportion of excellent graduates may simply reflect strong student performance and successful completion of demanding academic requirements.

"Therefore, a high rate of excellent graduates cannot automatically be regarded as evidence of grade inflation," the university leader said.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that institutions must regularly review examinations, grading criteria and learning outcomes to ensure academic results accurately reflect students' abilities.

Assessment should not be driven by predetermined graduation percentages, but universities should also pay attention to unusual patterns in grade distributions.

High honors could lose value in employers' eyes

From another perspective, Hoang Anh Tuan, Acting Head of Academic Affairs at the School of Business and Management under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said good and excellent degrees traditionally distinguish students with outstanding academic performance.

When too many students receive these classifications, employers may become less confident in the value of graduation rankings and academic transcripts.

At the School of Business and Management, only four students graduated with excellent classifications between 2023 and 2025, accounting for less than 1% of graduates.

Meanwhile, approximately 20% graduated with good classifications.

Tuan attributed the figures to the school's demanding graduation requirements.

Learning outcomes for individual courses are developed with reference to international standards.

Student performance is assessed through multiple methods, including discussions, debates, product development, market research and practical business activities.

Employer evaluations during student internships are also incorporated into the assessment process.

According to Tuan, requiring students to apply their knowledge to produce practical outcomes helps discourage selective studying and rote memorization merely to pass examinations.

As a result, students generally find it difficult to achieve high grades without demonstrating the ability to apply knowledge, analyze information and make informed judgments.

These skills are particularly important in courses that incorporate artificial intelligence tools.

"The university does not intend to make teaching and learning unnecessarily easier simply to increase the proportion of students graduating with good or excellent classifications," Tuan said. "Grades must accurately reflect each student's abilities and efforts."

He added that the university encourages students to focus on applying knowledge in real-world situations and accumulating professional experience rather than pursuing high grades alone.

"We want students to be able to adapt quickly to the workplace after graduation and entering the labor market, instead of focusing solely on achieving high scores," he said.

Thuy Nga