Voters propose graduation exam instead of high school graduation exam, what does the Minister of Education and Training say?

Responding to this petition, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son cited Article 34 of the 2019 Education Law, which stipulates that students who have completed the high school program and meet the requirements set by the Minister of Education and Training are eligible to take the exam. When meeting the requirements, they will be awarded a high school diploma by the head of the specialized education agency under the provincial People's Committee.

Students who have completed the high school program and are eligible to take the exam according to the regulations of the Minister of Education and Training but do not take the exam or do not pass the exam will be granted a certificate of completion of the general education program by the school principal.

The Minister of Education and Training said that the organization of exams to consider recognition of high school graduation has been stipulated in the Law on Education.

high school graduation exam 2 (2).jpg — Photo: VietNamNet

The exam is also one of the bases for assessing the quality of teaching and learning of general education institutions and the direction of educational management agencies. The exam also provides reliable data for universities and vocational education institutions to use in enrollment in the spirit of autonomy.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son affirmed 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 offers a concise exam plan that reduces pressure and does not cause costs to society.

Candidates with sufficient results represent the fields of social sciences, natural sciences and technology, arts, foreign languages, while ensuring the right to proactively choose according to the goals of the 2018 General Education Program.

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 by grade level.

Regarding this issue, the Minister of Education and Training said that Resolution 88/2014 of the National Assembly stipulates the socialization of textbook compilation, with a number of textbooks for each subject.

Textbooks compiled according to the 2018 General Education Program are socialized, creating conditions for many individuals and organizations with the ability and conditions to participate in compiling and creating good quality textbooks by many different groups of authors.

The Ministry of Education and Training has issued circulars regulating the selection of textbooks, including regulations that each general education institution selects one textbook from the list of textbooks approved by the Minister of Education and Training for each subject and class, suitable to the teaching and learning conditions and socio-economic conditions of the locality.

Teaching and learning in general education institutions are implemented uniformly nationwide according to the General Education Program. The fact that each school organizes teaching with different sets of textbooks does not affect parents' participation in the process of testing and guiding their children's learning.

Increasing the ratio of academic transcript scores in high school graduation exams: A 'double-edged' sword?

The Ministry of Education and Training's plan to increase the proportion of transcript scores in high school graduation recognition to 50% from 2025 has drawn mixed opinions. Experts say this is a 'double-edged sword' as it could continue to create momentum for 'inflation' of transcript scores.