New points in admission to grade 6 and grade 10

(Baonghean) - Nghe An Newspaper reporter had an interview with Associate Professor, Dr. Thai Huy Vinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training to answer questions about admission to grade 6 and grade 10 for the 2015-2016 school year.

PV:The 2015-2016 school year has changes in the admission process for grade 6 and the entrance exam for grade 10. Therefore, many parents want the Department of Education to inform them of the procedures for that work. Could you tell us how the Department of Education and Training has implemented the admission plan?

A review session of 5C class students, Hung Binh Primary School (Vinh City). Photo: mh

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:The Department of Education and Training has approved the education and training development plan for the 2015-2016 school year of the units, accordingly approving the specific targets of high schools, continuing education centers, junior high schools and the enrollment rate for grades 6 and 10. The Department has advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue the enrollment plan for grades 10 and 10 Phan Boi Chau specialized school in the 2015-2016 school year. The Department has also organized a conference to deploy the preparation of admission plans and entrance exams for grades 6 and 10 in the 2015-2016 school year and issued specific instructions.

Admission to grade 6 of junior high schools is carried out according to Circular 11, dated April 18, 2014 of the Ministry of Education and Training. Accordingly, admission to grade 6 of junior high schools is based on selection, not on entrance exams. However, in the years 2014 - 2015 and before, some schools were temporarily called key schools, high-quality schools, in fact these schools were previously specialized schools, but after implementing Resolution 2 of the Central Committee (VIII term), these schools became normal junior high schools, but due to better conditions in terms of staff, facilities, and enrollment quotas of these schools being less than the number of applicants, the schools still conducted entrance exams on student quality.

This year, Directive 5105 dated November 3, 2014 of the Minister of Education and Training strictly prohibits secondary schools from recruiting 6th grade students by entrance exams. Accordingly, some schools are confused, so the Department of Education and Training issued Official Letter 568 dated April 27, 2015, guiding the recruitment of these schools. Specifically, based on the criteria: First criterion, according to Circular 32, from the 2013 - 2014 school year onwards, that is, grade 4 and earlier are assessed according to Circular 32, that is, periodically assessed with scores for each subject. The second criterion, assessed according to Circular 32, has just been applied from the 2014 - 2015 school year, including both periodic and regular assessments. Third criterion, the Departments of Education and Training can rely on thresholds such as the results of Olympic exams, Math competitions for children, online Math competitions, English exams... to develop an enrollment plan to submit to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the city, town and district for decision.

PV:Can you tell me, with the entrance exam for grade 6, will schools arrange selective classes A, B, C?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:Currently, the issue of admission to secondary schools in general is not pressured for students and the Department does not direct the issue of arranging selective classes from the beginning. However, for some schools in the province such as Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Hung Nguyen), Dang Chanh Ky Secondary School (Nam Dan), Ton Quang Phiet Secondary School (Thanh Chuong), Ly Nhat Quang Secondary School (Do Luong), Cao Xuan Huy Secondary School (Dien Chau), Bach Lieu Secondary School (Yen Thanh), Ho Xuan Huong Secondary School (Quynh Luu) ... there is still pressure because the number of students admitted is less than the number of registrations.

PV:Sir, is admission to grade 6 based on students' academic results in grade 5 or throughout primary school?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:Admission to normal schools is mainly based on the learning and training results of the 5th grade. After students have completed the primary school program, they will be admitted directly to grade 6 of secondary schools. And the results of periodic and semester test scores of each primary school year have been publicly announced through the learning results management software, so everyone can know.

PV:Many parents are concerned about the new points of this year’s 10th grade admissions. Could you please elaborate on this issue?

Exchange before exam season. Photo: My Ha

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:This year's 10th grade admissions have some changes.

First: With the form of both entrance exam and selection. At this time, 58 schools in the province have chosen the entrance exam form, 8 schools follow the selection form. Entrance exam is in case the number of registered students is greater than the approved quota, selection is in case the number of registered students is less than, or equal to, the approved quota.

Second: Entrance exam to specialized schools, this year specialized subjects have coefficient 3. So the basic subjects Math, Literature, Foreign Language each have 10 points, which is 30 points and specialized subjects have coefficient 3, which is 30 points, total is 60 points, which means specialized subjects account for 50%. In previous years, specialized subjects only had coefficient 2, accounting for 40%.

Third: This year, the high school exam takes place earlier than previous years. Specifically, the 10th grade exam takes place on 2 days (June 9 and 10), and the entrance exam for Phan Boi Chau High School takes place on (June 11 and 12). This year, we will develop an exam process, and the admission process will have a post-inspection step. That is, after the schools have finished enrolling, the Department will establish an inspection team to check whether the admission process is correct, whether the students are the right subjects, the right quotas, and whether there are any errors in the admission process.

PV:Many students and parents wish that the Department of Education and Training could explain clearly the issues of entrance exams to Ethnic Boarding High Schools and Sports Gifted High Schools. So can you provide information?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:In addition to the common points, the Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities has its own characteristics, and enrollment must be carried out according to Decision 49 on the operating regulations of specialized schools. Accordingly, every year, the Department of Education and Training coordinates with the Provincial Ethnic Minorities Committee to submit to the Provincial People's Committee a plan for approval on enrollment quotas, enrollment subjects, and enrollment areas. Students entering these schools do not have to take separate exams but still follow the general regulations for entering grade 10 of high school.

For the Sports Gifted High School, students are recruited according to Decision 32, dated July 11, 2003 of the Minister of Education and Training. Accordingly, students of this school are still recruited according to Article 13, that is, they still take the transfer exam like normal students. However, recruitment to this school is carried out according to the operating regulations of gifted schools and gifted classes. Every year, the Provincial Sports Training Center and SLNA Football Club consult with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to submit to the Provincial People's Committee the recruitment plan and based on the admission scores to grade 10, the above units recruit and then transfer the students to the Provincial Sports Gifted High School for training.

PV:Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted is a school with a long history of achievements, attracting the attention of many parents and students. So can you tell us about the school's enrollment plan for the 2015-2016 school year?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:This year, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted has 11 classes for grade 10, each class has a maximum of 35 students, so the total maximum quota is 385 students and each specialized subject has 1 class including: specialized in Math, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Biology, Geography, History, English, Russian, French and Information Technology.

As mentioned above, this year, the specialized subject exam score is a coefficient of 3. There are 2 conditions to be admitted to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted: good conduct and academic performance in all years of secondary school, the second condition is to graduate from secondary school with a good grade, and for students with household registration outside the province, they must be approved by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

PV:Thank you for the above information!

Pv(Perform)