Grade 10 admission prioritizes IELTS: Some agree, some disagree

Ho Chi Minh City students take the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2023-2024 school year. Ho Chi Minh City has not given priority to candidates with international language certificates or IELTS certificates in 10th grade admissions for many years - Photo: MY DUNG

Up to this point, many provinces and cities across the country have announced their 10th grade admission plans. Among them, many provinces and cities have direct admission policies, giving priority to candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam when they have IELTS certificates or international language certificates such as Tuyen Quang, Quang Tri...

Worried about IELTS certificate

Previously, in the 10th grade admission season last year, many provinces and cities applied direct admission, giving priority to candidates with IELTS certificates or equivalent international language certificates such as Nghe An, Phu Tho, Binh Duong, Vinh Long, Quang Tri, Tuyen Quang...

After the Ministry of Education and Training recently issued a document requesting provinces and cities to stop direct admission and give priority to candidates with IELTS and international language certificates for grade 10, parents in many provinces and cities across the country had two opinions.

Ms. Thuy, Ben Thuy Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An, worried: "I don't know how the 10th grade exam is in Nghe An, but hearing this information makes me worried. My child has taken IELTS training and is hoping to get into a specialized school in the province. Moreover, if we don't consider it anymore, we should announce it from the beginning of the year to make it less difficult for students."

Students look at the list of 10th grade exam rooms at the Trung Vuong High School exam council during the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2023-2024 school year in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: MY DUNG

This year, Nghe An has not announced its 10th grade admission plan, but last year the province used IELTS combined with junior high school transcripts to directly admit students to some intensive English classes at high school level.

Last year, to get into the English specialized class at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted (Nghe An), candidates had to achieve a minimum IELTS score of 7.0, while other schools' scores ranged from 6.0-6.5.

Also in the spirit of disagreeing with the document of the Ministry of Education and Training, Mr. Dung, a parent whose child is preparing for the 10th grade exam in Quang Tri province, frankly said:

"In early February, my province announced the 10th grade admission plan, in which candidates with IELTS scores were converted to English test scores. If we don't allow conversion now, how will students be calculated? Will we have to take exams under pressure again?"

A leader of the Department of Education and Training of a province told Tuoi Tre that the Ministry of Education and Training's "blowing the whistle" at this time was inappropriate when many provinces had already announced plans and was not based on the spirit of encouraging students to improve their English proficiency in this province.

Direct admission based on IELTS is not suitable

However, many parents and teachers believe that the policy of not directly recruiting or giving priority points to 10th grade candidates with IELTS certificates or international language certificates is correct.

"Giving priority to candidates with international language certificates such as IELTS puts students who do not have the conditions to practice and study IELTS at a disadvantage," said Ms. Le, a parent in Nghe An.

Grade 9 students visit Le Quy Don High School to prepare for grade 10 entrance exam - Photo: MY DUNG

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Quyen - a high school English teacher in Ho Chi Minh City - also believes that priority should not be given or direct admission should be given to candidates with IELTS or international language certificates.

"If admitted directly by IELTS, middle school students will only focus on practicing IELTS. When entering high school, they have to study a combination of subjects, so direct admission by IELTS does not accurately assess students' abilities.

And not all students are good at foreign languages, other subjects should not be discriminated against".

Responding to Tuoi Tre , Dr. Le Xuan Quynh - head of the language bachelor program at RMIT University - said that the policy of provinces and cities using IELTS to directly admit candidates to grade 10 is not appropriate.

Because IELTS certificate cannot replace other exams. Likewise, converting IELTS exam score to English subject score for candidates because there is no same scale will be lame.

However, if provinces and cities combine the IELTS certificate and secondary school transcripts, there is a basis to exempt students from the 10th grade entrance exam.

"The conditions of each province and city are different, so 10th grade enrollment needs to be based on the actual situation of each locality," said Mr. Quynh.

The department said it was unfair.

Responding to the press, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Training, said the reason the ministry does not allow direct admission and bonus points for candidates with IELTS certificates in grade 10 admission is because it realizes that this policy can cause unfairness.

Because of the fact that they are in the same locality, students in the central area have easier access to studying and obtaining foreign language certificates.

On the contrary, in difficult areas, even if you try hard to learn a foreign language well, going to the test location or preparing millions of dong to pay the fee is still an obstacle. Therefore, using IELTS certificates to enroll in grade 10 is unfair.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-sinh-lop-10-uu-tien-ielts-co-dong-tinh-co-phan-doi-20240228101104529.htm