Voters petition to abolish high school graduation exams, what does the Minister of Education and Training say?

According to voters in An Giang province, the Ministry of Education and Training should organize graduation exams for students nationwide instead of the current high school graduation exam.

Responding to this content, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son emphasized that the Law on Education stipulates that when students complete the high school program and meet the requirements, they will take the exam to receive a high school graduation certificate. Students who complete the high school program but do not take the exam or do not pass the exam will be granted a certificate of completion of the general education program.

"The organization of exams to consider recognizing high school graduation has been stipulated in the Law on Education. At the same time, the exam is also one of the bases for assessing the quality of teaching and learning of general education institutions and the direction of education management agencies. Providing reliable data for universities and vocational education institutions to use in enrollment in the spirit of autonomy," the document responding to voters stated.

Emphasizing the necessity of organizing an exam, the Minister added that organizing the high school graduation exam is an important task of the education sector, which is of interest to society. The Party, the National Assembly, and the Government have issued many resolutions related to the exam and recognition of high school graduation. The Ministry of Education and Training always proposes an exam plan that is concise, reduces pressure, and does not cause costs to society.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son.

Voters in An Giang province also proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training assign local Departments of Education and Training to decide and select a unified set of textbooks according to grade levels in the province.

The Minister of Education and Training cited Resolution 88 of the National Assembly on "socializing textbook compilation; there are a number of textbooks for each subject". Along with that, in the circulars regulating the selection of textbooks, the Ministry of Education and Training gives the right to decide to schools to ensure that it is suitable for the conditions of organizing teaching and learning and the socio-economic conditions of the locality. "The fact that each school organizes teaching with different sets of textbooks does not affect the participation of parents in the process of testing and guiding their children's learning", the Minister affirmed in a written response.

Regarding the proposal not to increase university tuition fees to reduce difficulties for families and students, the Ministry of Education and Training informed that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to control inflation, the Government issued Resolution 165 in 2022 requiring universities to keep tuition fees stable for the 2022-2023 school year as in the 2021-2022 school year.

Therefore, tuition fees at public educational institutions remain stable and have not increased for three consecutive school years. "This tuition fee is very low, only covering 40-50% of training costs, the rest must still be supported by the State budget," the Minister emphasized.

In the 2023-2024 school year, although the State budget continues to cut 2.5% of regular expenditures for schools, the Government is still determined to issue Decree 97 to delay the tuition fee schedule by 1 year compared to the regulations in Decree 81. At the same time, policies on tuition exemption and reduction, and support for study costs for students in difficult circumstances, policy beneficiaries, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, and islands continue to be implemented to reduce financial burden.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cu-tri-kien-nghi-bo-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-bo-truong-gd-dt-noi-gi-ar902009.html