Admission to 10th grade: Wide-open opportunities for students

(Baonghean) - Although the 10th grade entrance exam results were released more than two weeks ago, schools are only now beginning the enrollment process. While the cut-off scores haven't changed much, schools, students, and parents are still anxious because this year has seen many changes in the enrollment process.

Top-performing schools are passive...

This year, Huynh Thuc Khang High School has over 1,000 students registering for the 10th grade entrance exam, but the enrollment quota is only 570. The school is still hesitant about announcing the cutoff score. This situation arises because the top 500 students with the highest scores simultaneously applied to and were accepted into both Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School and the specialized mathematics program at Vinh University. Therefore, although the list of accepted students is available, the school is not yet certain whether they will actually attend. Principal Cao Thanh Bao stated: "The quality of this year's candidates is quite high. Many students applying to Huynh Thuc Khang High School achieved perfect scores (10 out of 10) in English and Mathematics. Based on these results, the school anticipates setting the cutoff score at 36 points. However, the school is currently waiting for the results of the entrance exams from Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School and Vinh University's specialized high school before announcing the official cutoff score." This year, the admissions process is expected to be delayed because the two specialized schools will only complete their admissions by July 22nd.

Candidates take the exam at the Huynh Thuc Khang High School examination center (Vinh City).

While not as "tense" as Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Le Viet Thuat High School is also quite passive in the 10th grade admissions process. According to the current list, the school has nearly 80 students with entrance exam scores above 40 points. These are the school's most "potential" students, but also the students most likely to transfer schools. Furthermore, the school's admissions depend not only on the results of specialized high schools but also on the results of Huynh Thuc Khang High School. According to the admissions plan, the school will reserve 10% of its quota for students who failed their first choice at Huynh Thuc Khang High School to apply to Le Viet Thuat High School as their second choice. However, Huynh Thuc Khang High School itself is also in a passive position, and the school is unsure how many students will register. It will be very difficult to fill the 10% quota for second choices if Huynh Thuc Khang High School lowers its admissions cutoff score.

Regarding this situation, Mr. Phan Xuan Phan, the school principal, shared: “Because we are always reactive about whether students will stay or leave, this year, as soon as candidates submit their application to take the entrance exam, we require them to submit their original academic transcripts. Later, if any student comes to withdraw their transcript, we can identify them. Furthermore, the school also checks the list of admitted students from Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School. Those who decide not to attend will be excluded to make room for other students. The expected cutoff score for our school will be around 28-29 points; however, we will only announce the cutoff score after Huynh Thuc Khang High School completes its admissions process.” At Do Luong 1 High School, to avoid being reactive, the school only considers the first choice (NV1) score, and admitted students will be selected from the top down until the quota is filled.

Many opportunities for students

Only after public high schools have completed their admissions process do private high schools begin their selection. In previous years, admissions were very difficult, and most schools failed to meet their quotas due to a decrease in student numbers. Furthermore, the regulation prohibiting students from continuing their education at the high school level also significantly impacted the schools' enrollment. This year, however, the situation is expected to be more promising because, according to the new regulations of the Department of Education and Training: all students who have graduated from junior high school, if they do not pursue vocational training or attend continuing education centers, can still register to continue their high school education at private schools if they so wish. Regarding this new regulation, Mr. Duong Xuan Ngoc, Principal of Nguyen Trai High School (Vinh City), said that in previous years, the school's admissions process faced many difficulties. But with this new approach, the school has more sources for enrollment and also meets the wishes of a large number of parents and students. Students have already registered at the school, including some from several communes in Nghi Loc district.

Complete the registration procedures for the exam candidates.

According to enrollment figures, in the 2014-2015 school year, the entire province had 41,170 students graduating from lower secondary school. However, only over 34,000 students registered to take the entrance exam for grade 10, and the remaining approximately 5,000 students were subject to lower secondary school streaming. With this new regulation, the door to upper secondary education will now be wider for students, as there are 35 private high schools and continuing education centers throughout the province. Moreover, if they do not continue to upper secondary school, they will have many opportunities to attend vocational schools. Currently, Nghe An has over 62 vocational colleges and vocational training centers, and all of them have policies to recruit students who have graduated from lower secondary school. Furthermore, all these students will receive tuition and living expense support when studying vocational courses.

Mr. Thai Huy Vinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, stated: Depending on family circumstances and individual abilities, students can apply to continue their education at high school or register to attend vocational schools. However, vocational training is currently a very good and practical solution because after graduating from vocational schools, students not only receive vocational certificates to start working immediately but are also automatically recognized as having completed the high school program. If they wish to continue their education, they can still register to take the university entrance exam like regular 12th-grade students at high schools.

Text and photos:My Ha