Director of Nghe An Department of Education: There is no such thing as 'forcing' students to be divided into streams, everyone has the right to take the high school exam

At this time, final year students are accelerating to enter the exams to prepare for the 2022-2023 school year. Before the exam season, many parents and students are wondering about the new plan. To better understand this year's exam, Nghe An Newspaper had an interview with Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training about related issues.

Adjusting the exam plan does not affect the enrollment plan.

Reporter: Professor, Dr. Thai Van Thanh, the 10th grade entrance exam is one of the most important exams for high school students. This year, the Department of Education and Training has made adjustments by applying the same coefficient for the first time to 3 subjects. Why is there this change?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:As we know, in the 2018 General Education Program, Math, Literature and Foreign Language are 3 compulsory subjects from grade 1 to grade 12 and these subjects are similar to each other. Therefore, when we apply 3 subjects with the same coefficient, it is to implement the new General Education Program.

Class time of students at Nghi Huong Secondary School, Cua Lo town. Photo: MH

In addition, Nghe An is currently implementing a project to improve the quality of foreign language learning in educational institutions in Nghe An province for the period 2020 - 2025, with a vision to 2030, aiming to create a breakthrough in the quality of foreign language teaching and learning for all levels and training levels. At the same time, building an environment for teaching and using foreign languages, gradually improving students' foreign language proficiency according to international standards for all levels of general education.

This school year, students' studies were interrupted due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: MH

Therefore, when we organize entrance exams,grade 10, putting the three subjects of Mathematics - Literature and Foreign Language on the same level will promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages ​​in schools. This is also a prerequisite for students in the province to be able to integrate regionally and internationally. Currently, across the country, many localities have applied the same coefficient for three subjects such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City.

PV:From this school year and the following school years, the number of candidates registering for the 10th grade entrance exam is expected to continue to increase. So will this change affect the entrance exam scores of schools, sir?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:The entrance exam for grade 10 is conducted with the same questions for the whole province. However, the entrance exam is usually conducted in different localities, mainly students in each locality will take the exam in that locality. Therefore, although this is the first time we have applied a coefficient in all three subjects, it will not affect the admission scores and enrollment in schools because the average of localities is similar.

The only thing is, if in the past, when we applied a coefficient of 2 for the two subjects of Math and Literature, the entrance scores of schools would be higher. But now, if we apply a coefficient, the total entrance score will be low and this will put pressure on schools, specifically the principals of secondary schools, the Department of Education and Training on the quality of education and force schools to promote quality. If the entrance score is low, it is clear that the quality of teaching at the secondary level is not guaranteed.

Director of the Department of Education and Training inspects the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2021-2022 school year. Photo: My Ha

I must also say that, although this is the first year of implementation, for more than a year now, the Nghe An education and training sector has implemented a model to ensure educational quality in all general schools in the province and this is also the leading model in the country, which no locality has implemented. Accordingly, ensuring the quality of general schools must be guaranteed from input factors including teaching staff, quality of enrollment, facilities, finance and resources...

During the implementation process, teachers must enhance innovation in teaching methods, and student education must be taken care of. At the same time, coordination between families and communities must be carried out, schools and homeroom teachers must regularly connect, share information, and discuss with parents about the impacts on moral and personality education so that students can develop comprehensively and have full capacity...

Thanks to this preparation, the quality of education in schools is gradually becoming more substantial and homeroom teachers must sign a commitment with the principal, principals must sign a commitment with the Department of Education and Training, and principals of high schools must sign a commitment with the Department of Education and Training to evaluate the effectiveness of school management.

Professor Thai Van Thanh

PV:According to the industry survey, in the coming years, the number of students in the province will increase at all levels of education. So will this create pressure on enrollment, sir?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:The increase in students is within the prediction. However, parents can rest assured that in the coming years we will continue to do a good job of streamlining and career guidance and only 75% - 78% of students will attend high schools, the remaining 25% will go to vocational training.

During this process, students can still study the high school curriculum and still have a diploma. In addition, they have a vocational certificate so that after graduation they can support themselves and their families. We also need to determine that if a student has good vocational skills, they will also be appreciated. The world today also organizes vocational competitions such as international competitions in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, etc.

Second, as the number of students increases, the Department has also considered options such as opening some second campuses (especially in Vinh city) or increasing the number of classes in public schools... We also have two specialized schools and a gifted school of the Department of Culture and Sports. In addition, it is necessary to continue promoting the quality of non-public schools.

Candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam. Photo: My Ha

The Department is also continuing to call for international schools to come to Nghe An to create conditions for families who want to invest in sending their children to study abroad. This year, Nghe An has opened advanced classes beyond the quota of public schools and that will open up many opportunities for students.

PV:UMBRELLAYou have talked about the effectiveness of career orientation, but there are still many different opinions surrounding this issue, and there are even cases where schools "force" career orientation, causing parents to have negative prejudices about this policy. So what instructions has the Department of Education and Training given to make career orientation effective?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:The nature of the stream is for students who feel they have good vocational skills and actively choose not to take the high school entrance exam but choose to go to vocational schools. In addition, those who want to try to take the high school entrance exam but have limited ability and fail the exam can choose models such as non-public, vocational education centers - continuing education centers, continuing education centers or vocational training. This is the right of students and there is no situation of "forcing" students to stream.

For more than two years now, the Department has directed secondary schools and required heads of education and training departments to take responsibility for this issue. Students have the right to take the high school entrance exam. This is entirely the choice of parents and students.

PV:One of the difficulties for 10th grade candidates this year is that schools “limit” the registration of admission wishes (NV2 and NV3). Is there anything unusual about this, sir? And what solutions does the education sector have to increase the chances of admission for candidates?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:When reviewing the school year plan, we have taken into account the number of students and the quota assigned to the schools which is high, maximum with the training capacity of the school. The actual NV2 enrollment only increased by about 1 class and instead, every school has increased the plan by 1 class so it does not affect the enrollment results. Therefore, parents do not worry too much and it is important to consider to register for a school that is suitable for the ability of the children.

Final exams always put pressure on many candidates. Photo: Duc Anh

The Department also gives students a week to change their preferences. Therefore, after the schools announce the admission rates, if students find it unsuitable, they can change their preferences.

Advanced school model to help students develop comprehensively

PV:This year, the Department of Education and Training will pilot the high-quality advanced school project. Could you tell us more about this model?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:The model of high-quality advanced schools is to promote comprehensive education and develop students' talents such as music, physical education, and sports. Moreover, in this environment, children are taught information technology and foreign languages ​​with output according to international standards. With the establishment of advanced models, Nghe An education will not lag behind, at least with big cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City... and integrate with the region.

This is the basis for having high-quality human resources, improving competitiveness and promoting the prosperity of the province. Obviously, having high-quality human resources will open up many opportunities in the future for students. Resolution No. 26 also determined that Nghe An will be the cultural and political center of the North Central region, so the quality of education must be better than other provinces, there must be a leading locomotive and a model for other localities to learn from.

The principal of TH School directly introduced the experimental class to students in Vinh city. Photo: MH

During the implementation process, from the time the project was issued to its official implementation, it took less than a year, but before that, the project had been operated and prepared for more than two years. The project was developed based on the existing teaching staff, facilities and cooperation with prestigious educational institutions, so the schools were proactive in implementation.

PV:One of the issues that parents are concerned about when implementing the pilot school model is the issue of admission and tuition fees. So, what direction has the Department of Education and Training given on this issue?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:Regarding this issue, I can confirm that parents do not have to worry too much about the input because this model only requires students to be admitted to a public school in the province and have the desire to study at an advanced school. The important thing is that the children have passion, enthusiasm to develop their own talents and parents want their children to develop comprehensively. We have also calculated, the expected tuition fee is only above or below 2 million/month and this is not too difficult for parents in many localities. Meanwhile, the children study 2 sessions/day and are guaranteed the conditions to develop, have many good skills.

Candidates taking the 10th grade entrance exam. Photo: Duc Anh

Recently, I have also received comments from some parents who are worried that when opening an advanced school, primary and secondary school students will lose the opportunity to be educated in the area. We have asked the Vinh City Department of Education and Training to consider this issue and create conditions for students to be transferred to other schools, ensuring the right to be educated according to regulations.

PV:Exam pressure has been going on for many years, especially in localities with high competition rates. So, before this year's exam, what message do you want to send to candidates and parents?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:We always ensure that no matter the circumstances, we must ensure the learning opportunities and rights of students in the province. Therefore, before this year's exam, parents can rest assured and schools have also calculated to increase the benefits for students.

As I have shared, the Department has been implementing a quality assurance model, monitoring input and ensuring output quality, so the quality between schools will be similar. Students should not worry too much because it will affect their exam preparation and exam results. Comfort will help students calmly do the test.

This year, the Department has also directed schools to check and review both the knowledge and psychological manifestations of students after returning to school to have appropriate educational measures. During the exam, the Department's professional departments will calculate on a general basis, only test the learning parts and not test the simplified parts to suit the organization of teaching in a special school year due to the impact ofCovid-19 epidemic.