"Two-in-one" exam: Many universities choose option 2

Organizing the 2015 National High School Graduation Exam according to option 2 was the choice of the majority of universities at the 2014 Conference of University and College Presidents.

Candidates complete university entrance exam procedures. (Photo: Phuong Vy/VNA)

The conference was organized by the Ministry of Education and Training on August 15, online at the locations of Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Vinh, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho.

Unified "two in one" exam

Most university leaders agree on organizing a "two-in-one" exam, with results used to both recognize high school graduation and consider admission to colleges and universities, as proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training.

According to the principals, organizing two high school graduation exams and college entrance exams in June and July as every year is very cumbersome, costly for society, and stressful for candidates.

“There are candidates who take all three entrance exams, round 1, round 2 and college entrance exam. So, in two months, they have to take the exam four times, which is very tiring,” said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu, Vice Principal of Thanh Tay University.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Principal of Luong The Vinh University, said that the Ministry's policy of organizing a "two-in-one" exam is very reasonable.

As for Hanoi Law University, the school's leaders said that organizing the exam every year is very difficult for the school. "We cannot grade the exam papers ourselves but have to ask other schools. Other schools have to grade their papers before they can grade ours, so every year, Hanoi Law University is one of the schools that announces the final exam scores. We support the 'two-in-one' exam," said a representative of Hanoi Law University.

Supporting the idea of ​​a national exam is also the opinion of many leaders of other schools such as Thang Long University, Thai Nguyen University, Phuong Dong University, Hanoi Medical University...

However, there are also some principals who think that the Ministry should assign the high school graduation exam to the departments of education and training to organize and maintain the university entrance exam. Representative of this opinion are Associate Professor Tran Van Nam, Principal of Da Nang University, Colonel Nguyen Quy Khoat, Vice Principal of the Security Academy, etc.

The 2014 university entrance exam may be the last "three common" exam. (Photo: Quy Trung/VNA)

Choose option 2

Choosing how to organize exams is also an issue of special concern to university principals.

While leaders of education and training departments, when speaking at the 2013-2014 school year summary conference recently organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, mostly leaned towards option one, many universities leaned towards option two.

According to Associate Professor Tran Van Nam, Director of Danang University, of the three exam organization options proposed by the Ministry, option 2 is the most suitable for current conditions.

In this option, candidates will take compulsory subjects including Math, Literature, Foreign Language and choose to take one of two additional subjects: Natural Science (including Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and Social Science (including Literature, History, Geography).

Analyzing the advantages of option two in more detail, Mr. Vu Phan, Principal of Phuong Dong University, said that among the three options proposed by the Ministry, option one with 8 subjects is too heavy, option three with 11 subjects is too complicated, only option two is the most reasonable.

This is also the opinion of the Director of Thai Nguyen University, Professor Nguyen Kim Vui. “Option 2 is suitable for selecting candidates for different majors,” said Mr. Vui. According to the Director of Thai Nguyen University, with the role of “two in one”, it is important that the exam has a very clear differentiation with the easy part for graduation and the difficult part for university admission. In the difficult part, it is necessary to classify average candidates, good candidates, and excellent candidates so that the school can choose according to the score.

At connecting points such as Da Nang and Nghe An, the report synthesizing opinions shows that option 2 is also chosen by many schools.

Regarding the time of implementation of the exam, many opinions said that it could be applied in 2015, but some delegates also suggested that the Ministry should have a roadmap so that high schools, especially students, can prepare in time.

In response to many conflicting opinions, speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam directed the Ministry of Education and Training to conduct thorough research and, in particular, to promptly inform candidates before the new school year begins. “There are only a few weeks left until the start of the new school year, so the Ministry must make careful calculations. People only hope that the exam organization plan must be clear, fair, not too complicated, and must encourage their children to go to school,” said the Deputy Prime Minister./.

According to VNA