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Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training has released a draft circular on the organization and operation of specialized high schools, proposing significant changes to their admissions procedures and classroom structures.
Under the proposal, specialized high schools would admit students into three academic streams: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Foreign Languages, rather than recruiting separately for individual specialized subjects as they do now.
The Natural Sciences stream would cover Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Informatics, while the Social Sciences stream would include Literature, History and Geography.
The Foreign Languages stream would encompass languages taught under Vietnam's general education curriculum.
If approved, the new system would require students to apply for an academic stream rather than a specific specialized subject. Applicants to the Foreign Languages stream would still select the language they wish to study.
Students to choose advanced subjects after entering Grade 10
One of the most significant proposed changes is that students would no longer have to determine all their specialized subjects when applying for admission.
During the first semester of Grade 10, students would participate in introductory learning activities, academic projects and career guidance sessions to explore their interests and potential career paths.
Each stream would have one compulsory specialized subject: Mathematics for Natural Sciences, Literature for Social Sciences and the selected foreign language for Foreign Languages.
Students would then choose two additional subjects within their stream for advanced study.
These choices would be guided by their academic interests, career aspirations and subject combinations commonly used for university admissions.
For example, students in the Natural Sciences stream could pursue combinations such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry; Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology; or Mathematics, Physics and Informatics.
Those in the Social Sciences stream could select Literature, History and Geography.
Students would formally register their chosen advanced subjects at the end of the first semester of Grade 10.
From the second semester, they would begin studying advanced modules in their selected subjects. The specialized curriculum would become more stable from Grade 11 onward.
Students wishing to change their advanced subjects would undergo academic assessment and receive counseling.
Any change would require parental consent, a recommendation from the relevant academic department and approval from the school principal.
Such adjustments could be made at the end of Grade 10 or Grade 11, depending on the school's organizational capacity and arrangements for helping students catch up on missed content.
Under the draft regulations, each specialized class, whether organized by academic stream or advanced subject, would have no more than 35 students.
The proposal would also prohibit specialized high schools from operating non-specialized classes.
Different entrance examinations for each academic stream
The draft introduces separate examination structures for the three proposed streams.
Applicants within the same stream would follow a common admissions procedure and be assessed against the same admission cutoff score.
Schools would no longer allocate separate admission quotas to individual specialized subjects.
Importantly, admission to a particular stream would not require students to study every subject within that stream at an advanced level.
Instead, they would select two additional specialized subjects after completing their first semester of Grade 10.
For the Natural Sciences stream, candidates would take three examinations: Advanced Mathematics, Literature and a Natural Sciences reading comprehension and competency assessment.
Applicants to the Social Sciences stream would sit Advanced Literature, Mathematics and a Social Sciences reading comprehension and competency assessment.
Candidates applying to the Foreign Languages stream would take Mathematics, Literature and an examination in their chosen foreign language.
The Natural Sciences and Social Sciences competency assessments would be integrated examinations designed to evaluate reading comprehension, logical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
Questions would be based on the learning requirements of lower secondary Natural Sciences or History and Geography curricula, rather than requiring advanced knowledge of individual subjects.
The standard Mathematics and Literature examinations would use the common Grade 10 entrance examination papers administered by provincial education departments.
In localities where no general Grade 10 entrance examination is held, the education department would organize separate Mathematics and Literature tests for applicants to specialized high schools.
Under the proposed scoring system, Advanced Mathematics, Advanced Literature and foreign language examinations would carry a weighting of at least two, while the remaining examinations would have a weighting of one.
Provincial Departments of Education and Training would determine the examination format, schedule, duration and content for specialized high schools under their management.
For specialized high schools affiliated with universities, these responsibilities would rest with the respective higher education institutions.
New admissions model could begin in 2027
According to the draft, the new specialized high school model is expected to take effect from the 2027-2028 academic year.
Schools that are not yet adequately prepared would be allowed to postpone implementation until the 2028-2029 academic year.
The precise implementation schedule would be determined by the relevant provincial education department or university, based on each school's readiness.
Factors to be considered include teaching staff, curriculum development, educational plans, facilities and admissions arrangements.
The implementation timeline would be announced alongside each school's Grade 10 admissions plan.
Students who have already been admitted to specialized high schools before the new regulations take effect would continue studying under their existing specialized classes and curricula until graduation.
The proposed changes remain subject to approval and have not yet taken effect.
Thanh Hung
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