Eliminate 6th grade entrance exam: Will not put pressure on students

(Baonghean) - According to the direction of the Ministry of Education and Training, starting from the 2015-2016 school year, all schools will not be allowed to organize entrance exams for grade 6. There is still 1 month left for grade 5 students to have summer vacation, the common concern is what is the specific enrollment plan? But in any case, we should not let the pressure of extra study "weigh down" on students during the summer...

The policy of not organizing entrance exams for grade 6 was issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in November 2014 in Directive No. 5105, aiming to limit the situation of extra teaching and learning in primary education. In Nghe An, not organizing entrance exams for grade 6 is only really of interest to schools that have long been considered "gifted" schools, "high-quality" schools such as Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (Vinh City), Ly Nhat Quang Secondary School (Do Luong), Bach Lieu Secondary School (Yen Thanh), Ho Xuan Huong Secondary School (Quynh Luu), Ton Quang Phiet Secondary School (Thanh Chuong).

Class time of 5C students, Hung Binh Primary School (Vinh City).

Regarding the ministry's policy of not having exams but alternative plans, recently in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, some schools have proposed plans such as instead of exams, they will organize IQ and EQ tests, but they were all "blown the whistle" by the ministry because this is essentially a "disguised" exam. Recently, the Department of Education and Training held an open meeting to get opinions from schools and Departments of Education. Among the proposed solutions, many opinions considered the option of considering admission based on the results of periodic tests of 5th grade students based on common exam questions developed by Departments of Education and some other criteria...

Mr. Vo Van Mai, Head of Secondary Education Department, Department of Education and Training said: In the upcoming 6th grade entrance exam, secondary schools in Nghe An will not have entrance exams but will only use the selection method; the department will have instructions on the form and criteria, so that each locality has a suitable, strict, specific selection plan; however, the following conditions must be ensured: the scale of the network and the number of students must be in accordance with the approval of the department. For schools with a number of students registering for admission greater than the planned admission quota, it is necessary to develop an admission plan with admission criteria based on the results of primary school student assessment according to the provisions of Circular 30/2014/TT-BGDDT dated August 28, 2014 (applied from the 2014-2015 school year), and Circular 32/2009/TT-BGDDT dated October 27, 2009 of the Ministry of Education and Training (applied from the 2013-2014 school year and earlier), in accordance with the local situation.

Thus, in the upcoming 6th grade entrance exam, all schools in Nghe An province will not organize entrance exams but only use the selection method. What parents want now is that localities need to have a good, correct, targeted and suitable enrollment plan for students. While the department, offices and schools are struggling to find the most optimal solution, parents and students do not have to worry too much about sending their children to extra classes or putting too much pressure on them, because the selection process is not only based on the learning results of grade 5 but also those of many previous years. Racing to send children to specialized schools and selective classes, while their academic performance is still limited, is a "double-edged sword" that can further hinder children's development, creating pressure for them and preventing them from making progress.

Song Hoang