When will the third exam stop?

Although the 10th grade admission regulations from 2025 have specifically stipulated 3 exam subjects, the lack of a fixed third exam subject continues to make students and parents worried.

Circular 30/TT-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training on the regulations for secondary school and high school admissions has just been issued with many new points. In particular, the specific regulation that the entrance exam for grade 10 includes: Math, Literature and a third subject or test selected by the Department of Education and Training has received approval.

The regulation of unifying 3 entrance exam subjects for grade 10 is expected to avoid the current situation where each place has a different number of exam subjects.

However, the fact that the number of third subjects is not fixed continues to worry students and parents. According to Circular 30, the third subject will be announced after the end of the first semester but no later than March 31 every year.

Candidates taking the entrance exam to grade 10 of public high schools in Hanoi for the 2024-2025 school year.

Ms. Hoang Dieu Thuy (Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi) has an older child who has taken the 10th grade entrance exam. But this year, her youngest child is taking the exam, and her family is more worried because there are many changes to the exam. These changes do not reduce the burden on students but instead create a sense of insecurity.

“Every year, when it comes to the 10th grade entrance exam, both students and parents worry to the point of losing sleep. When will this pressure end? The third exam should be scheduled early in the school year so that children can focus on studying and reviewing,” said Ms. Thuy.

After the Ministry of Education and Training announced Circular 30, some localities planned to choose English as the third subject, such as Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Nam, Tien Giang, Khanh Hoa. This plan received a lot of support.

However, according to the new regulations, localities will not choose the same third exam subject for more than 3 consecutive years, starting from the effective date of this circular, February 14, 2025. Many families whose children are taking the 10th grade exam this year can breathe a sigh of relief, but many families whose children have taken the exam for 3 years are worried from now on.

Ms. Luu Thao Trang (Dong Da district, Hanoi) said that currently, teaching integrated subjects according to the new program still has some shortcomings and causes controversy. Therefore, if the Department of Education and Training chooses the third subject as an integrated subject, the exam will be more difficult for the children.

Regarding this new regulation, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Training analyzed that if the regulation of the third subject is fixed, whether students want it or not, from the beginning of grade 6, they will have to pay close attention and focus on the subject they will take the exam, affecting the time and quality of studying other subjects, leading to students not being able to study comprehensively, causing disadvantages for students in accumulating knowledge, developing their own abilities to study at higher levels as well as participating in the labor market later.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of Secondary Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training.

For example, if there are 3 subjects: Math, Literature and English, students will only focus on these 3 subjects, not spending time on other subjects, leading to them not being fully equipped with natural and social knowledge to study at higher levels.

"This will be a disadvantage for students, because students who want to use a foreign language well, including listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, must definitely use natural and social knowledge in listening, speaking, reading and writing in a foreign language," Mr. Thanh emphasized.

The Director of the Department of Secondary Education added that the regulation on the third subject or exam is announced after the end of the first semester but no later than March 31 every year to balance students to focus on completing all subjects according to the program, but still have enough time to review, prepare both knowledge and psychology for the subjects to be tested, ensuring balance and fairness among all localities across the country for students to study and review for the exam.

After issuing Circular 30, the Ministry of Education and Training sent an official dispatch to the Departments of Education and Training regarding the selection and announcement of the third subject for the 10th grade entrance exam.

To effectively carry out enrollment work from the 2024-2025 school year according to the new regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training requests that the Departments of Education and Training organize the selection and early announcement of the third subject or exam according to regulations to facilitate students in studying, completing the program and reviewing, preparing well for the conditions, creating a mentality of readiness to take the exam and achieving good results.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/thi-vao-lop-10-bao-gio-het-lo-mon-thi-thu-ba-10298171.html