Ministry of Education and Training explains why many units have stopped testing IELTS and foreign language certificates

On the morning of November 10, a series of units stopped testing IELTS and many international certificates. Many test organizers explained that the suspension of international foreign language certificate exams was to complete the procedures according to Circular 11/2022 of the Ministry of Education and Training dated July 26 on joint organization of foreign language proficiency certificate exams. According to this Circular, organizations and individuals are only allowed to organize foreign language proficiency certificate exams when there is an approval decision or a decision to extend the joint organization of exams from the Ministry of Education and Training.

The suspension of foreign language certification exams is causing concern for many candidates and their parents. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do spoke to the press about the organization of foreign language certification exams in Vietnam.

PV: What do you think about the recent activities of organizing foreign language proficiency certification exams in Vietnam?

Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do:In recent times, the activity of organizing joint examinations to grant certificates in general, and foreign language certificates in particular, has tended to develop in terms of scale, form, and language. This activity meets the needs of those taking the exam to obtain certificates, creating convenience for people, businesses, and recruitment organizations to determine the foreign language proficiency of workers.

Besides the positive aspects, the association of foreign language certification examinations in Vietnam also has many shortcomings. Specifically: The association of foreign language certification examinations in Vietnam has been widely deployed in recent times with many types of certificates and many different languages ​​without quality control.

The joint organization of foreign language certification exams in Vietnam mainly complies with the regulations of foreign partners, not fully complying with the regulations on conditions and criteria for joint organization of exams in Vietnam (regarding facilities, equipment, invigilators, supervisors, etc.), leading to a number of negative aspects that have been reported by domestic and foreign press such as: proxy exams, fraud in records, forgery of documents, etc.

These negative factors cause bad public opinion, affect the rights of certificate holders, affect the rights and interests of organizations that seriously implement and issue certificates; people are confused in choosing certificates and exam organizations to be granted certificates; cause tax losses for the State and reduce the attractiveness and transparency of the investment and business environment in the education sector in Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do.

PV: How do you explain why some centers have to stop organizing foreign language certification exams?

Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do:Implementing Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP and Circular No. 11/2022/TT-BGDDT, the Ministry of Education and Training is receiving applications for approval of the project on joint exam organization.foreign language proficiency certificatesin Vietnam.

Although the Ministry of Education and Training has guided the associated parties through many channels and forms (directly, indirectly, by phone, email) and has been urgent in researching the projects and organizing the appraisal. However, the preparation of the application for approval of the association of many examination organizations up to this point has not met the requirements, especially the requirements for quality assurance, association criteria or legal status of the associated parties have not been clarified, the information shown in the projects is also insufficient or unclear, so the Ministry of Education and Training does not have enough basis to approve and publicly announce for the society to monitor.

The fact that some organizations/units have announced that they have stopped organizing foreign language proficiency exams is because the associated parties have not yet prepared or completed the application for approval by the Ministry of Education and Training according to the provisions of Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP and Circular No. 11/2022/TT-BGDDT. This demonstrates the respect and compliance with Vietnamese law by organizations/units (including Decree No. 04/2021/ND-CP dated January 22, 2021 regulating administrative sanctions in the field of education).

PV: What do units/organizations need to do to continue organizing exams and issuing certificates, sir?

Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do:To be able to jointly organize exams to issue foreign language proficiency certificates, the cooperating parties need to prepare a dossier requesting the Ministry of Education and Training for approval according to the provisions of Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP and Circular No. 11/2022/TT-BGDDT. The dossier includes: Application for approval to jointly organize exams to issue foreign language proficiency certificates according to Form No. 08 in the Appendix issued with the Decree. Agreement or contract between the testing organization in Vietnam and the foreign language proficiency assessment facility. Document confirming the legal status of the cooperating parties. Project to organize exams to issue foreign language proficiency certificates according to Form No. 09 in the Appendix issued with the Decree.

Thus, parties wishing to cooperate in organizing foreign language certification exams need to prepare a complete application according to the above regulations. If the application meets the requirements, the Ministry of Education and Training will process it as quickly as possible to ensure compliance with current regulations (the time for appraisal and approval according to Decree No. 86/2018 is 20 days). After approval, the Ministry of Education and Training will publicly post it on the Electronic Information Portal at http://moet.gov.vn so that people can know and choose the right facility to take the exam to get the certificate and for society to participate in monitoring.

PV: Thank you./.