Eliminate entrance exams for grade 6 but have separate mechanisms for special schools

(Dan Tri) - "The Departments of Education and Training develop a set of admission criteria applicable to all schools, and at the same time have separate criteria guidelines for special schools and "hot" schools when enrolling 6th grade students."

Above is the opinion of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Training regarding the regulation on abolishing the entrance exam for grade 6 of junior high school, recently issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Specifically, according to Mr. Thanh, in 2014, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 11/2014/TT-BGDDT, promulgating regulations on secondary and high school admissions, stipulating a single admission method for secondary schools: selection.

However, this makes the admission based on general criteria not meet the enrollment target, so the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BGDDT stipulating: "Admission to secondary schools based on the admission method.

In case the number of students registering for grade 6 is more than the enrollment quota, the Department of Education and Training will guide the implementation of the enrollment plan by the selection method or combining selection with testing and assessing students' abilities.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Training (Photo: Moet).

At the time of issuing Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BGDDT, the Ministry of Education and Training clearly stated that testing and assessing capacity is different from an exam, meaning that when conducting admission to a secondary school, if the number of students meeting the requirements of the general admission criteria still exceeds the school's assigned quota, the school can combine testing and assessing capacity to supplement the admission criteria applied to the number of students who have met the requirements of the general admission criteria, instead of organizing an entire exam with many subjects for 100% of students applying to the school.

Through implementation in recent years, some schools have implemented enrollment mainly based on organizing "tests and assessments of student abilities" as an entrance exam for 100% of students applying to the school.

The role of "admission" in the method of combining with "testing and evaluating students' capacity" as prescribed in Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BGDDT has not been properly implemented.

"The newly issued Circular No. 30/TT-BGDDT continues to stipulate that the secondary school admission method is selection, along with regulations assigning the Departments of Education and Training to provide specific guidance on selection criteria, ensuring that the selection process is fair, objective, transparent, and appropriate to the practical situation of the locality.

Accordingly, the Departments of Education and Training must develop a set of admission criteria applicable to all schools; at the same time, have separate criteria guidelines for schools that, after implementing admission according to general criteria, still have more students meeting the requirements than the school's assigned quota," said Mr. Thanh.

Candidates taking the Hanoi secondary school entrance exam (Photo: Manh Quan).

According to Mr. Thanh, the specific criteria are not only the requirements in the admission application but also need to directly evaluate students in many different forms such as: questions and answers, writing, presentations, practice, experiments, academic records, products, student activities, or tests, assessing students' abilities, ensuring that admission is carried out fairly, publicly, transparently, and in accordance with practical conditions as stipulated in Circular 30.

It should be noted that for enrollment in any secondary school according to the principles of Circular No. 30/TT-BGDDT, universalization tasks must be carried out in the area. This is also the basis for the Department of Education and Training to develop admission criteria to ensure accurate, fair, public and transparent enrollment requirements.

Previously, Circular 30 of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) on the regulations for secondary and high school admissions clearly stated: The method of secondary school admissions is the selection method.

The admission criteria are specifically guided by the Department of Education and Training to ensure fair, objective, transparent admission, and appropriate to the actual situation in the locality.

For multi-level high schools affiliated with universities and research institutes, admission criteria are guided by the governing body.

The school's grade 6 enrollment plan must be announced before March 31 every year.

Previously, many top schools in provinces and cities recruited 6th grade students by considering transcripts or entrance exams (Illustration: Le Tu).

The entrance exam for grade 6 at some key schools in some big cities is always as tense as a bowstring, some schools even have a "huge" competition rate.

Normally, top schools in provinces and cities will recruit 6th grade students in two steps: first is to consider academic records (usually the scores of all subjects must be above 9), after the selection round is the entrance exam (usually there will be 3 main subjects: math, Vietnamese, English or can add a comprehensive exam or computer science...).

In addition, some students who win city excellent student awards or international competitions, have medals in sports and arts can be admitted directly or receive priority points.

In Hanoi, some schools such as Hanoi - Amsterdam; Foreign Language Secondary School; high-quality schools Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan, Nam Tu Liem; Nguyen Tat Thanh, Luong The Vinh schools..., mostly enroll students in June, with math, Vietnamese, and English tests.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/bo-thi-vao-lop-6-nhung-co-co-che-rieng-voi-cac-truong-dac-biet-20250108155338436.htm