In many classes in Nghe An, 100% of students do not enroll in university.

The class has no students enrolled in college.

It is not yet time to prepare graduation exam documents and consider university admission wishes, but at this time, Nam Dan 2 High School has basically completed the survey of wishes of all 12th grade students.

Notably, out of nearly 500 students of grade 12, only 2 classes C1 and C2, 100% of students wish to register for university admission. Classes from C3 to C7 have a rate ranging from 50 - 80%. Particularly the last 3 classes C8, C9 and C10, 100% of students participate in the high school graduation exam but only to get graduation results. The rest, not a single student wishes to register for university.

Student Nguyen Gia Huyen – a student of class 12C8 said: I do not plan to go to university because I am afraid of not having a job after graduation. After graduating, I will study abroad in the form of studying and working to quickly earn an income and support my family.

Nam Dan 2 High School compiles statistics on university admission applications for senior students. Photo: My Ha

More than half of the students in these classes wish to work abroad or study abroad (but in fact, to work). To meet the students’ wishes, in recent years, some study abroad companies have also come to work at the school to advise and support students in the language learning process and procedures.

Through a recent survey by a study abroad company based in Hanoi with all students, with the question "When you study abroad, what goal do you want to achieve?", many students who wish to study abroad choose the option of "studying and working to support yourself" instead of the other two goals of "knowledge, degrees" or "job opportunities after graduation".

Teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Hien - Vice Principal of Nam Dan 2 High School said that she was not surprised by the statistical results of the final year students. Because, not only in this school year but also in previous years, the number of 12th grade students who did not wish to apply for university was about 40 - 50%.

Students of Nam Dan 2 High School are interested in information about studying abroad after graduation. Photo: My Ha

Explaining this, she added: In our school, there are quite a few students with low entrance scores, even below average scores. Therefore, during the learning process, students already know their abilities and do not place too much emphasis on the need to go to university. Instead, they choose many other career paths that are suitable for their abilities such as going to vocational school, going to work abroad or working as factory workers. Number of students enrolling inuniversity, are usually good students, excellent and have the ability to be admitted to top universities. On the school side, in the career guidance process, we also advise students to choose careers that are suitable for their abilities, development trends and social needs.

With nearly 70% of students not registering for university entrance exams, teacher Tran Dinh Manh - Principal of Tuong Duong 2 High School also said that it is not difficult to find classes where 100% of students only take the exam to graduate. According to him, "the cost of university education is so expensive that many families in mountainous areas can hardly afford it. Therefore, after graduating, students mainly just want to go to work and have an income."

The number of students not going to university is increasing. This trend seems to have been predicted and objectively this is a positive signal, especially in the current period of "too many teachers, not enough workers".

At Quang Trung High School (Dien Chau), teacher Nguyen Van Nam - Principal of the school said: Only a small percentage of students at our school register for university admission. The rest, most of them are sent to work abroad, even some 11th graders have dropped out of school to go. A few students who do not have the conditions will choose to go to vocational school or work immediately after graduation.

Orientation to choose the right career, right capacity

Because they decide to go to school to work, for many senior students, studying is no longer a big pressure. On the school side, facing this change, career guidance has also had to change to adapt and guide students to choose suitable careers in the future.

Former students of Dien Chau 3 High School attended the school's admissions consultation day. Photo: My Ha

Earlier this year, the Youth Union of Dien Chau 3 High School organized the "OPENDAY 2023" admissions consultation day. Participating in the program were former students of the school, currently studying and working at universities in Hanoi. Through the direct consultation program, volunteers shared many meaningful stories from their own experiences. At the same time, they provided the school's students with a lot of information about universities, the majors that students are studying, and shared career opportunities to help students make the right choices.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - Vice Principal of Le Hong Phong High School said that career guidance teaching in high schools is having shortcomings and according to the old curriculum, each year students only have 9 career guidance periods. In this context, homeroom teachers and school union must expand and innovate career guidance forms through extracurricular activities, inviting universities to directly advise on admissions. In addition, the school also requires homeroom teachers to update admissions information and career trends to advise and orient students.

Career guidance class for 12th grade students at Le Hong Phong High School. Photo: My Ha

In addition to the above forms, schools are now flexibly using social networks to promptly provide official information to final year students.

A positive sign in Nghe An in recent years is that students have begun to choose careers based on their abilities, family circumstances and personal strengths instead of following the crowd. The path to university is no longer the only option when each year about 40% of high school students choose to study vocational training or other professions, instead of just enrolling in university... Compared to the whole country, the rate of students studying vocational training is higher than the average and in line with the current trend./.