In 2017, the number of students using IELTS certificates to apply for National Economics University (NEU) was just 50 or 70. But in 2023, about 11,000 students so far have submitted dossiers with international English certificates.

Looking at a graph on the number of students using IELTS results to apply for the university, a representative of the training division was surprised as the number of such students has skyrocketed over the last few years.

More than 40 universities, including top-tier ones such as Foreign Trade University and Vietnam National University, have announced IELTS results as a criterion to enroll students in the 2023-2024 academic year.

The new enrollment policy applied by top-tier schools has created an "emulation movement" to learn English.

Vietnam ranked 60th in the English proficiency index in 2022, among the group of countries with average proficiency level. With the latest ranking, Vietnam is no longer among the group of countries with low proficiency level and is now two grades above China. 

On education forums, parents show off their children’s IELTS certificates as a ‘passport’ that leads their children to top-tier universities. 

However, Vuong Thi Lien, a lecturer at the National Academy of Public Administration, pointed out shortcomings in the enrollment scheme that uses IELTS certificates.

First, the unreasonable conversion of IELTS scores and the different applications used among universities. 

For example, for students applying for NEU, a 6.0 IELTS score is equal to an 11 score for the national exam, 6.5 IELTS is equal to a 12 score, 7.0 IELTS is equal to a 13 score, and 7.5 IELTS is equal to a 14 score. 

Schools in Vietnam use a 10-point grading scale, where 10 is regarded as the highest and 0 the lowest. Therefore, it would be unfair for students who don’t use IELTS scores when applying for universities.

Second, using IELTS results to assess students’ abilities will lead to inaccurate assessment. English is a language subject and must not represent all science subjects.

The schools relying on IELTS results will fail to find students good at math or sciences for technology-related training majors just because they are not good at English. 

In this case, students who are good at their profession will be ignored. Schools can only find proficient English-speaking students who may not have the logical thinking required in the sciences.

If businesses need an accountant, they seek someone majoring in finance or auditing. English is just an ‘instrument’ for people to access complicated professional knowledge.

English and foreign languages are considered very important skills for diplomacy. But these are not enough. Knowledge of history, geography, economics, politics and other fields are also necessary to create an elite diplomat.

Third, the new method of enrolment will widen the gap between mountainous areas, islands, rural areas, and urban areas, and between the rich and the poor. 

With a developed internet in Vietnam, students can learn English and prepare for IELTS from everywhere. But paying for a smartphone and internet service, and VND5 million for exam fee, is a problem for students in mountainous areas.

Fourth, the requirements for English skills may lead to students spending more time learning English and less time on Vietnamese. In some large cities in Vietnam, some students speak English better than Vietnamese. The core nation values are eroded.

In the 4.0 industrial revolution, one just needs to use Google to translate paragraphs of text into hundreds of languages. Not only translating texts, it also provides translations in voice and images. Translation machines have also become common at international conferences and seminars.

AI has step by step cleared language barriers. OpenAI and ChatGPT have helped make translation easier. In an era when the world is getting flatter thanks to AI, will children from preschool to high school be asked to learn English to just obtain a ‘passport’ to a university?

Vuong Thi Lien