The reason why Ho Chi Minh City is determined to keep English in the 10th grade exam

(Dan Tri) - Head of the Ho Chi Minh City education sector, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, expressed his determination to keep the English subject in the city's 10th grade exam.

This content was raised by Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City at the discussion session of the 20th meeting of the City People's Council on the afternoon of December 9.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu (Photo: Huu Khoa).

"As the head of the city's education sector, I firmly advise the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to continue holding the 10th grade entrance exam in English until the Ministry of Education and Training allows the city to make its own decision. We are orienting this way to ensure stability in teaching and learning," Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu emphasized.

The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City said that many delegates and people are very interested in the 10th grade entrance exam and high school graduation exam under the new program starting in 2025.

Especially grade 9 students, at this time are very "confused" because they do not know how to choose the third subject in the grade 10 exam when the Ministry of Education and Training has not "finalized" the final plan.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu said that for many years, Ho Chi Minh City has organized entrance exams for public grade 10 with three subjects: math, literature, and foreign language.

In particular, for English, the Government had two projects in 2008 and 2018, focusing not only on the subject but also on the language. In addition, the Politburo also concluded to gradually make English a second language.

According to Mr. Hieu, the awareness of foreign languages ​​of the people of Ho Chi Minh City is very good, students not only study for exams but also invest in their children to study remotely, early. This helps the city achieve many good results in English exams. Therefore, without the right decisions and policies, it may be difficult to invest properly in teaching and learning English in schools.

The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City also shared that when students finish grade 9, they will have basic knowledge of all subjects. Parents should not worry too much about choosing which subjects to take the exam, to avoid putting pressure on their children.

Agreeing with this opinion, Mr. Duong Anh Duc, Secretary of District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, said that Ho Chi Minh City must be the leading locality and act early in striving to make English the second language according to the direction from the Central Government.

Mr. Duong Anh Duc emphasized that the success of Ho Chi Minh City will contribute to the success of the national project. The city needs to have its own project to make English the second language. This needs a roadmap such as which units, localities, and schools have the conditions to implement first, then expand, and together pull the localities up.

According to Mr. Duong Anh Duc, from this basis, Ho Chi Minh City will proactively propose to the Ministry of Education and Training to be autonomous in organizing the first and final exams in a spirit suitable to the development of the education sector and the conditions of the city.

Ho Chi Minh City wants to keep English in the 10th grade exam (Photo: Hoai Nam).

2025 is the first year of implementing 10th grade enrollment according to the 2018 General Education Program. According to the draft of the 10th grade exam plan from the Ministry of Education and Training, the exam will take place with two subjects: math, literature and a third subject that must be changed over the years to aim for comprehensive education. This subject is announced before March 31 every year to avoid students from studying in an unbalanced way.

Besides opinions agreeing with the draft plan, many opinions said that changing the third exam subject every year and announcing it on March 31st will make schools and students passive, increasing the pressure to study in many subjects.

It is known that the 10th grade exam plan will be announced this December according to the schedule in the Draft Circular promulgating the Regulations on Secondary School and High School Admissions of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Making English the second language in schools is mentioned in Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW dated August 12, 2024 of the Politburo and the Plan of tasks and key solutions for the 2024-2025 school year of the education sector.

The conclusion sets out a breakthrough task in teaching and learning English with the main content: "Focus on improving foreign language skills of students, gradually making English the second language in schools...".

The education sector's plan of key tasks and solutions for the 2024-2025 school year also sets out the requirement: "Research and develop projects and plans to gradually make English the second language in schools."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/ly-do-tphcm-kien-dinh-muon-giu-mon-tieng-anh-trong-ky-thi-lop-10-20241209175859037.htm