D STOP GIVING PRIORITY TO CANDIDATES WITH IELTS CERTIFICATES
In early February, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province approved the public 10th grade enrollment plan. Accordingly, candidates with an IELTS certificate of 4.0 or higher or equivalent are exempted from the English test, converted to 9 points for this subject, applicable to both specialized and non-specialized schools. The converted score for a 4.5 and 5.0 IELTS certificate is 9.5 and 10 points.
Candidates taking the 10th grade exam for the 2023-2024 school year
This is the third consecutive year that Quang Tri has exempted English proficiency tests for students with IELTS. Two years ago, the province applied this admission method, but with an "easier" score: students with a 4.0 IELTS score are given 10 points.
Responding to the press, Mr. Mai Huy Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Tri, said there are two reasons for the province to apply this policy. One is to motivate students, helping them learn foreign languages better. The other is to reduce "unnecessary" exam pressure for those who already have certificates.
Tuyen Quang is even more "aggressive" in giving priority to students with IELTS. From 2022, this province will directly admit students with 5.0 IELTS to non-specialized public high schools. For ethnic boarding schools and English-specialized classes at Tuyen Quang Specialized High School, the requirements are 6.0 and 7.0 IELTS, respectively. If the IELTS score is not enough for direct admission, the student will be given 1-2 points, depending on the school.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Tuyen Quang province, said the policy aims to promote English learning, contributing to training high-quality human resources in the locality. The average score of the English graduation exam in this locality for many years has been below average.
In addition to Quang Tri and Tuyen Quang, many other localities such as Vinh Long, Binh Duong, and Lao Cai this year also added priority points or exempted English exams for candidates with IELTS from 4.0. In previous years, the group of localities that directly recruited candidates with IELTS also included Nghe An and Phu Tho. Last year, to be admitted to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted (Nghe An), candidates had to achieve a minimum of 7.0, while other schools had a range of 6.0 - 6.5. Phu Tho only applies this to mainstream schools, with a requirement of 6.5 IELTS or higher. These two provinces have not announced their 10th grade admission plan this year.
Thus, although localities have applied priority in admission to candidates with foreign language certificates for several years, this year this information was published in the press and caused debates on social networks, so it seems that the Ministry of Education and Training has just "discovered the problem" and issued a document "blowing the whistle". The Ministry of Education and Training recognizes that the priority in admission by foreign language certificate is "not in accordance with regulations" and requires: "Provinces that have approved plans and methods of admission to grade 10 of high school are not in accordance with regulations on direct admission, the priority regime must be adjusted to ensure compliance with regulations in Article 7, Consolidated Document No. 715/BGDĐT-GDTrH and publicly announced to relevant subjects".
Expert: "Stopping IELTS Admissions is Right"
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Vuong, an education expert, said that using IELTS to enroll 10th graders is reasonable. To get an IELTS certificate, students must also make an effort and have certain language and thinking skills. But it is also unreasonable because it is unfair to students who do not have the conditions to study and take the IELTS test because it is expensive and not every family can afford it. Moreover, high school students need to learn many things, not just English. Therefore, according to Mr. Vuong, stopping enrollment by IELTS is right. In the long term, to reduce stress, there should be enough public schools so that students do not have to take the test when they want to continue to 10th grade. Families who have the conditions or want a personalized education method can choose a private environment.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE NOT COVERED BY THE "WHILT"
In addition to the above provinces, in Hanoi, the admission method using IELTS certificates is applied by many non-public schools such as Archimedes Academy, Nguyen Sieu, Le Quy Don, Luong The Vinh, Doan Thi Diem...
Many people are also concerned about whether private high schools in Hanoi have announced that they will give priority points to students with foreign language certificates or provincial awards. According to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, these schools are autonomous in enrollment, but must report and get approval from the department on their plans and options.
The localities that are subject to the Ministry of Education and Training's request for adjustment also expressed concern and "regret". The leader of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Tri province said that localities using IELTS for direct admission need to consider, but Quang Tri's policy is appropriate because it only uses the certificate to exempt the English exam and does not replace other subjects. The representative of the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An also said that they will review whether the admission policy that the province has applied for the past few years is affected by the Ministry's decision or not, but it would be a pity if foreign language certificates are no longer used for admission.
" TURN THE CAR" WITH THE NUMBER OF EXAM SUBJECTS
As Thanh Nien noted, up to this point, most localities that have announced their 10th grade admission plans have chosen the 3-subject exam option, although some provinces in previous years had 4-5 subjects. The rare locality is Bac Giang, although it has issued a decision to organize 4-subject exams, on February 21, the Department of Education and Training sent a document requesting the Party Committee of the Bac Giang Provincial People's Committee to consider reducing the exam to only 3 subjects (literature, math and English); eliminating the fourth exam (lottery in physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography and civics).
Most localities have announced their 10th grade admission plans in 2024 and have chosen the 3-subject exam option.
Mr. Ta Viet Hung, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Bac Giang, explained that out of the 4 years of secondary school, 9th grade students are currently affected by the Covid-19 epidemic for 2 years. In addition, they are studying the 2006 general education program; the next year, when they enter grade 10 of high school, they will study according to the 2018 general education program (students can choose subjects based on their abilities and strengths). Therefore, organizing exams for only 3 subjects will reduce pressure on educational institutions, parents and students.
This move by the Bac Giang Department of Education and Training, although a "turnaround" situation, is considered a positive change in the direction of listening to public opinion and reducing unnecessary pressure on students.
Being more cautious, the Department of Education and Training of Hai Phong City proposed two options for the entrance exam to public grade 10 to survey the opinions of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. In which, option 1 is that candidates take 3 subjects including math, literature, and English. Option 2 is that candidates take 4 compulsory subjects including math, literature, and a combined test. The combined test will include foreign language knowledge and 1 subject drawn from the remaining subjects. Explaining the survey, the Department of Education and Training of Hai Phong said that it was to achieve high consensus in society, and at the same time, it was the basis for the unit to submit to the City People's Committee the most suitable admission method.
The trend of fewer subjects seems to not stop at 3 subjects but even less. The People's Committee of Quang Binh province has just approved the plan for admission to grade 10 of non-specialized high schools next school year. Accordingly, the province will remove English from the exam, keeping two subjects: math and literature. The number of subjects will be reduced to 2. As for Vo Nguyen Giap Specialized High School, the number of subjects will remain the same as usual, including 4 exams: math, literature, English and specialized subject.
Provincial excellent students are not among the priority subjects.
Before the Ministry of Education and Training issued the document, the leader of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training also proposed to the Ministry of Education and Training on the policy of adding points in the 10th grade entrance exam for students who won prizes in the city-level excellent student contests in cultural and scientific subjects for 9th graders. However, speaking to Thanh Nien reporters about this proposal, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education (Ministry of Education and Training), said that giving priority in 10th grade admission to provincial excellent student contests is also not in accordance with the regulations in the Circular promulgating regulations on junior high school and high school admissions No. 03/VBHN-BGDĐT dated May 3, 2019 of the Minister of Education and Training.
The Ministry of Education and Training also said that in 2024, the Ministry will conduct inspections of 10th grade high school enrollment in a number of localities.
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