Minister of Education and Training talks about high school graduation exam and admission

In the program "People ask - Minister answers" on May 26, Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan answered many questions about issues related to the high school graduation exam and university and college admissions in 2013.

Minister Pham Vu Luan. Photo: VGP/Vu Hiep

Dear Minister, this year is the first year of implementing the regulation allowing candidates to bring recording devices and video recorders into the high school graduation exam room. Although the school has organized training, many teachers are still confused. Many teachers are wondering whether the new regulation will help ensure the goal of a serious exam or not?

Minister Pham Vu Luan:We have received feedback on the above concerns. But in fact, the problem is simple, in that, we should not raise the issue of having too many complicated devices but only raise the issue of preventing devices from broadcasting images and sounds directly in the exam room.

However, understanding the concerns and worries of the establishments, the Ministry will provide detailed instructions on this matter in writing. We believe that adding this regulation will increase responsibility and improve the ability to monitor the forces participating in the exam.

According to the Ministry's statistics, the number of university and college entrance exam applications this year decreased by more than 100,000 applications, equivalent to a decrease of 6% compared to last year, especially the applications for the field of Business Administration decreased sharply, up to 10%, while the fields of Science, Education, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries increased. What is the Minister's assessment of this change and what is the Minister's orientation to strengthen the connection between training and the needs of society?

Minister Pham Vu Luan:The decrease in applications to economics and business administration is a welcome sign after we warned that the number of graduates from these majors has reached market demand, especially in the context of the global economic recession and the difficulties of Vietnamese enterprises in recent times.

The increase in the number of candidates applying for the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and science and technology sectors is also a good sign because basic sciences, engineering, and technology form the foundation of the economy.

I am just a little concerned that the number of candidates taking the entrance exam for the Education sector is still very large. Thank you very much for your love of the Pedagogy sector, but to be honest, the number of students graduating from Pedagogical Universities and Colleges in the past few years is quite large and the tolerance of training and educational institutions is also at a certain level.

However, the good news is that students have considered choosing a career based on the needs of society and the development of the labor market, which is a good development.

Dear Minister, is the education sector ready for the two exams at this point?

Minister Pham Vu Luan:It can be said that up to this point, all the preparations are ready. Except for the training, there are still some points that teachers of the general education level this year are implementing the regulations for the first time, so they are still wondering. This will be supplemented and completed by our guidance document in the coming days.

One information that many students and parents are interested in is asking the Minister to "reveal" the direction of the high school graduation exam and university entrance exam this year?

Minister Pham Vu Luan:In general, both exams have questions based on the high school curriculum, mostly on the 12th grade curriculum. The exam questions will be basic and will not challenge students. For social sciences and humanities, the questions will be open-ended and will not require students to memorize mechanically.

Another requirement of the university entrance exam is to classify students' levels for selection, so there will be more difficult questions.

With only 1 week left until the graduation exam, what does the Minister share with students and teachers?

Minister Pham Vu Luan:The first thing we want to tell students is to be calm and confident, study scientifically, regularly, and take care of your health. When doing the test, stay calm, read the questions carefully, do the test with confidence, do the test honestly, face yourself, and overcome yourself.

We hope that teachers, with a sense of responsibility and professional conscience, will fully comply with the regulations, create the best conditions for students to do their homework in a serious and calm environment, and gradually fight against negativity to regain the trust, first of all of the students, then of their parents and society.

I would like to say one last thing, this year, the sector is celebrating the 45th anniversary of Uncle Ho writing his last letter to the education sector. We consider this to be Uncle Ho's personal testament to the education sector. In this letter, Uncle Ho advised the education sector on many things, but one of them is "no matter how difficult it is, we must strive to teach well and study well".

On this occasion, we would like to remind teachers and students across the country to be determined to implement Uncle Ho's teachings, first of all in this graduation and entrance exam period and in the upcoming teaching process.

Thank you very much, Minister!

According to (Chinhphu.vn) - LT