Students should not be tricked or pressured into taking the 10th grade entrance exam with a third subject.

Many conflicting opinions

In previous years, besides Literature and Math, English was the third subject chosen by most provinces across the country. Therefore, this is still the option that many parents and students want.

But besides that, some opinions say that the third exam subject should be changed to help students study all subjects equally and reduce pressure for schools in difficult areas.

Teacher Nguyen Van Hai - Principal of Que Phong Ethnic Boarding Secondary School said: "Through the reality of teaching at school, I see that, compared to many other regions, mountainous students have many disadvantages in learning English, even now there are still students who have not learned English in primary school before entering secondary school and we have to "group" them into one class for further training. To ensure fairness, I think that choosing the third subject option of any subject is appropriate, not just English, so that students can develop comprehensively".

Ms. Trinh Thi Hong - a Natural Science teacher at Quang Trung Secondary School (Vinh City) believes that the third subject should be any subject, not necessarily English: "If only 3 subjects are tested in Math - Literature - English like before, students will have the mentality of only studying these 3 subjects. That leads to high school students also choosing similar subjects and leads to the fact that students in Natural Science majors will not choose. This will lead to an imbalance in careers, and technical schools will have difficulty recruiting students. This trend in the current context goes against the world when it is encouraging students in STEM and science majors. On the contrary, if other subjects are tested, it will create pressure for parents and students, especially for integrated subjects. Therefore, if there is a lottery or any selection, the Education sector needs to announce it early so that students have time to invest and narrow down their review", Ms. Hong said.

Do not puzzle or put pressure on students.

The 2024-2025 school year is the first year that the Education sector implements the 10th grade entrance exam according to the new General Education Program, so the organization of the exam is of particular concern. In preparation for this exam, in mid-October 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training issued the Draft Regulations on Secondary and High School Admissions and solicited opinions on the 10th grade entrance exam plan.

Accordingly, the Ministry plans to organize 3 exams including Math, Literature and a 3rd exam or a combined exam selected by the Department of Education and Training, which must be rotated over the years to achieve the goal of comprehensive education in the basic education stage.

After nearly 2 months of collecting opinions, the draft of the Ministry of Education and Training is still receiving many mixed opinions. Teacher Tran Viet Phuong - Principal of Nghi Duc Secondary School (Vinh City) said: "Currently, although there are no instructions on the third exam subject, we are instructing all teachers of grade 9 subjects to prepare mentally to help students have maximum knowledge in the subjects. Personally, I think that no matter what subject is tested, the Ministry needs to announce it early so that schools can be proactive in teaching and reviewing for students. However, if a specific exam subject is determined, it will be better for teachers, parents and students in schools. The concern that if only 3 subjects are tested, the learning will be uneven is unfounded, because if students want to have good results, they must study all subjects equally."

Regarding the draft of the 10th grade entrance exam, Director of the Department of Education and Training Thai Van Thanh said that the Department has not yet finalized the third exam subject and is waiting for the regulations guiding the admission of junior high school and high school students from the Ministry of Education and Training to serve as a basis for developing the admission plan for the 2025-2026 school year.

Over the years of organizing the examgrade 10At the grassroots level, the Director of the Department of Education and Training also has many concerns with the options proposed by the Ministry. "In my opinion, the best option is that in addition to the two compulsory subjects of Math and Literature, the third exam subject must be chosen by students to suit their abilities. That will help students when they enter high school and they will proactively choose the appropriate study combination.

However, in the current context, to do so requires more effort in organizing exams and creating exam questions, and schools also face difficulties in selecting students. In addition, I think that the regulation that the organization of the third exam subject must change over the years is not appropriate, causing difficulties for the organization of localities.

In fact, to change the exam subjects over the years, the Departments will have to have a method to choose this year to take this subject, next year to take another subject by drawing lots. Moreover, this method also leads to the situation where students will skip the subjects that they took in the previous exam. Therefore, it is difficult to prevent students from studying lopsidedly, learning by rote, or to achieve the goal of "comprehensive education".

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We should not impose or challenge students by drawing lots or anxiously waiting for exams with the aim of equipping them with knowledge in all subjects. There should be a mechanism to add priority points and encourage students with international language certificates in the 10th grade entrance exam from 2025 to promote foreign language learning.
In addition, to implement the policy of gradually making English the second language in schools, there should be mechanisms and policies to promote it, and English should be made the third exam subject to suit the reality in each locality.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of Department of Education and Training