VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has released new regulations for high school finals, but students are worried the tests will be difficult and prevent them from attending university.

Nguyen Thi Ha in Cau Giay District in Hanoi, whose son is a 12th grader, said she was worried about his finals scheduled to take place in early July.

“I agree that only one national exam should be organized instead of two separate ones – high school final and university entrance exams. However, I still don’t know if there is a good possibility of my son being admitted to university,” she said.

Ngoc Bach, a student at Quang Trung High School in Hanoi, said he is preparing for the A-group exam, focusing on three subjects – math, physics and chemistry.

“I think I would have to review literature and foreign language lessons to prepare for enrolment in university,” he said, adding that this would give him more opportunities to pass the university exam. If he fails to enroll in a polytechnic school, he may try a foreign language school.

The 2015 high school graduation and university entrance exams are divided into two groups.

The first group will be co-organised by universities and the Department of Education and Training.

The results of the exam will be used for two purposes: determining students’ graduation from high school and admission to tertiary education at university, college or vocational training institutions.

The results of the second group, organised by the local departments of education and training, will determine students’ graduation from high school.

The examinees must register for the exams before April 30, 2015 at their high school or prescribed sites of Department of Education and Training.

But one father still cannot decide which group his son should register for. “If my son registers to attend the second group, will he have the opportunity to enroll in university if he changes his mind later?” he said.

Le Xuan Nguyen, deputy headmaster of the Phuoc Kien High School in Nha Be District of HCM City, said he was afraid that his school might not score high marks.

“Though MOET has kept the 10/10 marking scale, we are afraid that the changes in the way the exam questions are made will confuse the students,” he said.

In principle, 25 percent of the exam questions are “easy” and another 25 percent are at “medium-level”.

“It will not be not easy for average and below-average students to get a five mark on their exams,” he said.

Thanh Mai