At a hearing organized by the National Assembly Committee on Culture and Society, Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son said the proposal to adjust bonus points for foreign-language certificates was made based on an analysis of admissions data.

According to the minister, if a program requires English proficiency as an entry requirement, universities should include English in the admissions subject combination or criteria. They should not admit students based on other subjects such as Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology, and then award additional points to applicants holding English certificates.

Son said this approach can lead to a single capability being counted twice while creating disadvantages for candidates lacking access to international certificates.

The minister cited cases in which admission benchmarks reached 28 points while the bonus could be as high as 1.5 points. As a result, many applicants scoring 26.5-28 points could still fail to gain admission simply because they did not hold a certificate eligible for bonus points.

“This is an urgent issue related to fairness in admissions,” the minister said, adding that the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) would continue listening to experts' opinions to finalize the regulations.

Although using international certificates falls under institutional autonomy, MOET enacted regulations to limit the impact of bonus points. The Minister cited last year's regulation stipulating that each candidate's total bonus points must not exceed 10 percent of the maximum score.

The Minister also emphasized that learning English remains vital for university education and future careers. Restricting certificate bonus points in admissions does not equate to denying the value of foreign language learning.

A representative from HCMC University of Technology also argued that unrestricted certificate bonus points can distort the selection score scale, driving benchmark scores up abnormally and creating disparities in access opportunities among candidates across different regions.

“If too many points are added to the admissions score for an international foreign-language certificate, applicants who cannot afford to take the test could be put at a disadvantage, even if they have strong academic ability,” the university representative said.

Cu Xuan Tien, Head of Admissions and Student Affairs at the University of Economics and Law, expressed agreement with scrapping foreign language certificate bonus points.

According to Tien, each university builds an independent conversion table, so the same certificate can hold varying values depending on the institution. Notably, if English is already included in the admissions subject combination and a university also awards certificate bonus points, the same competency could be counted twice.

Meanwhile, the draft still permits universities to convert foreign language certificates into foreign language subject scores within the selection subject combination. The candidates holding certificates can still use these results in admissions rather than losing their advantage entirely.

Do Van Dung, former rector of HCMC University of Technology and Education, also supports scrapping IELTS bonus points.

According to Dung, access to international certificates depends significantly on economic circumstances and where applicants live. When IELTS results are converted into 1.5-3 bonus points on a 30-point scale, the difference can change the order of admission at programs where admission benchmarks are close.

Scrap them or phase them out?

While many opinions support scrapping IELTS bonus points, there are differing views on how the change should be implemented.

Pham Thai Son, director of admissions and communications at HCMC University of Industry and Trade, said the bonus should not be eliminated immediately but reduced gradually through a transition period.

Immediate abolition could trigger reactions from parents and applicants, particularly those who have already spent time and money studying for and taking the certificate with the expectation of using it for university admissions.

“Eliminating it immediately could trigger reactions from parents and applicants who have prepared for the certificate. I think a gradual reduction would be more reasonable. This year, the maximum could be reduced to 0.75 points, and next year the regulation could be scrapped altogether,” Son said.

A transition period would give applicants, parents and universities time to adapt while limiting the abrupt impact on admissions plans that have already been prepared, he said.

Nguyen Trung Nhan, head of the Training Office at HCMCy University of Industry, also thinks a transition period was needed.

“There needs to be a transition period so that those who have already prepared are not caught off guard. It could last one, two or three years, depending on how the policy is designed,” Nhan said.

Le Huyen