Nghe An students worried because of unclear plan for 10th grade entrance exam
The draft on choosing a third subject for the 10th grade entrance exam has not yet reached a consensus, which has invisibly created pressure for parents and students and led to difficulties in the exam review process of schools.
No consensus
Previously, in early October, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed drawing lots for the third exam subject in the10th grade entrance examHowever, this plan did not receive consensus and created many opposing opinions, because it was believed that this would put pressure on students during the review process.
To replace the old plan, recently in mid-October, when officially announcing the Draft Regulations on Secondary School and High School Admissions, the Ministry of Education and Training made adjustments.
Accordingly, the 10th grade entrance exam will have 3 methods including: entrance exam, selection or a combination of entrance exam and selection. The selection of the entrance exam method is under the authority of the locality. Particularly for the organization of the entrance exam, localities will conduct 3 exams, including Math, Literature and a third exam or a combined exam selected by the Department of Education and Training, higher education institutions with high schools and announced before March 31 every year.
According to this draft, the third subject is selected from among the subjects that are assessed by scores in the general education program at the secondary level. The Ministry of Education and Training also proposed a plan to change the selection of the third subject over the years to achieve the goal of comprehensive education in the basic education stage.
The promulgation of the Regulations on Secondary School and High School Admissions is carried out in the context that the 2024-2025 school year is the year that completes the implementation cycle of the 2018 General Education Program from grades 1 to 12. Therefore, this year will be the first year that the 10th grade entrance exam will be implemented according to the 2018 General Education Program.
Before the draft was issued to solicit comments from 63 departments of education and training and high schools, the Ministry of Education and Training also proposed a view to build the draft based on three principles: being concise, not causing pressure and expense, promoting educational activities, especially comprehensive education. From there, so that students have full qualities and abilities, are qualified to continue studying at high school, ensuring a common ground to serve the State management work in inspection, examination and assessment.
The third exam must be relevant to reality.
Regarding the changes in the Draft Regulations on Secondary School Entrance Exams (10th grade entrance exams), many opinions said that the Ministry of Education and Training's removal of the option of drawing lots for the third exam subject is appropriate. That will help students be more proactive in the review process.
However, with the new draft, the Ministry of Education and Training's requirement that the third exam subject must be rotated annually will also put pressure on students. Many parents, even though their children are only in 7th or 8th grade this year, are already feeling worried.
Ms. Le Thi Hoai Thuong, whose child is studying in grade 8 in Vinh city, said: "The grade 10 exam is a particularly important exam. From next year, the number of students in Vinh city will increase dramatically with more than 8,000 candidates taking the exam each year. Therefore, if the Department of Education and Training does not announce the exam subjects soon, students will have difficulty in the review process and put more pressure on their children. Not to mention, if each year there will be a different subject, students will be passive in the review process."
The implementation of the new program also shows that, in addition to the two compulsory subjects of Literature and Mathematics, it is very difficult to choose the appropriate exam subjects for the remaining subjects. Specifically, if candidates take the Natural Science exam, they will have to study 3 subjects: Physics - Chemistry - Biology, if they take the History - Geography exam, studying is also very difficult. Meanwhile, for the remaining subjects such as Information Technology, Technology, English... the most optimal option is still English.
I think, at the present time, if we take exams in Natural Sciences or History - Geography, it is not suitable, because the amount of knowledge in these subjects is too heavy. In addition, teaching these subjects in secondary schools is currently difficult, there are not enough teachers. Meanwhile, English is still a subject that many parents and students are interested in and invest in.
If you don't learn English, you won't have many opportunities to develop in the future. Or if you go to university, you will have a hard time, because all universities have English output criteria.
Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tuan - Vice Principal of Nghi Kieu Secondary School
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Giving her opinion, teacher Vo Thi Kim Oanh - Vice Principal of Nghia Hanh Secondary School (Tan Ky) also hopes that the education sector should choose a suitable exam subject to avoid pressure on students.
On the part of schools, there is a responsibility to educate students to develop comprehensively: When the Ministry of Education and Training proposed the option of rotating the third exam subject, the main purpose was to avoid lopsided learning and rote learning. But in reality, in schools, for a long time, even though there are no exams, students still have to study all subjects and every year there are mid-term and final exams to assess students' abilities. Not to mention, currently all subjects and teachers have signed a commitment to ensure quality with the school, the school has signed a commitment with the department. Therefore, there will be no situation of learning to cope...
According to the plan, although it will not be until December that the Ministry of Education and Training will officially announce the third subject for the 10th grade entrance exam, currently, Ho Chi Minh City has become the first locality to announce the English subject selection plan. In Nghe An, this is also a traditional subject that has been implemented for many years.
To avoid pressure on students, many parents and students shared that the announcement of the third exam subject must be implemented soon. At the same time, the choice of subjects must be suitable for practice to avoid disruption in the review process, ensure an objective assessment of candidates' abilities and be consistent with the criteria for admission to high school.
To make comments objectively, the Department of Education and Training is also collecting opinions from schools.
The Ministry's decision to let localities choose the admission plan and the third exam subject is appropriate and consistent with the characteristics of each locality.
Regarding the exam subjects, I personally think that, in the current context, English is still the most suitable subject, because it is suitable for the entrance criteria of schools. Meanwhile, if choosing Natural Sciences or History - Geography, there are still shortcomings. Not to mention, these subjects, students may not choose to study in high school, so they are not suitable for the admission criteria for grade 10 for all students.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung - Head of Secondary Education Department, Department of Education and Training
