VietNamNet Bridge - Some secondary schools in HCMC plan to select students with aptitude tests rather than traditional exams, while several universities have decided to enroll students based on SAT and IELTS results.

Some schools have decided to enroll students based on SAT and IELTS results

Since MOET (the Ministry of Education and Training) released a decision on prohibiting entrance exams for secondary schools, nearly all schools in HCMC have been selecting students based on records at primary schools and achievements at local and national competitions for excellent students. 

Tran Dai Nghia School for the Gifted is the only school in HCMC that has enrolled students with assessment tests in English. 

Other ‘star’ schools have expressed their willingness to use the enrollment method of Tran Dai Nghia.  

The students applying at star school are excellent students with a 10 score on math and literature exams.

The deputy headmaster of a state-owned secondary school in district 10 said all schools in the city want the assessment test, though local authorities do not intend to build more schools for the gifted at the secondary education level.

MOET has published a new draft circular on secondary and high school recruitment. One significant change is to allow secondary schools with applications exceeding enrolment quotas to either review them and add an entrance exam. The draft will be open for discussion until February 18.

As for tertiary education, analysts have predicted a busy enrollment season in 2018 as some schools have decided to use new enrollment methods applied by international universities.

Hanoi National University (HNU) has announced it will enroll more than 8,500 students for 104 standard, high-quality, advanced and talented training curricula.

Besides the two current enrollment methods, which are based on the results of national high-school finals and ability assessment tests drawn up by HNU, the school will also select students based on the Cambridge International Examinations A-Level and SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test).

This is the first time a national university will use SAT results. HNU is the first state-owned school using the enrollment method.

With the decision to use different enrollment methods, HNU targets students who are studying at international high schools or following international education curricula.

HNU’s head of the training division Nguyen Dinh Duc said the school has launched many training curricula in English with international standards. Therefore, using the results of SAT or Cambridge International Examinations is reasonable.

The Hanoi Foreign Trade University and Hanoi Economics University have also announced they will consider students’ exam results and IELTS and TOEFL when enrolling students.

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