Thousands of students in Nghe An are worried because foreign language certification exams are postponed.

Students and centers struggle due to postponement of foreign language certification exams

On the morning of November 11, Ms. Nguyen Ha Phuong (Vinh Tan Ward - Vinh City) went to Ama English Center to complete the procedure to receive the fee for the STARTERS certificate exam - 1 of 3 exams in the Cambridge English certificate system for primary school students. Although the registration fee was not much, just over 1 million VND, Ms. Phuong decided to withdraw this amount because she did not know when this exam would be held again.

Talking about this, Ms. Phuong said: My daughter is in grade 2 and according to the schedule, this time she will take the exam to get the STARTERS certificate as a basis to continue studying the next courses and also an opportunity to evaluate her ability. According to the schedule, this time she is preparing for the exam but we were informed by the teacher that the exam was postponed and there is no new schedule, so we will reconsider taking this exam.

This morning, some parents went to foreign language centers to withdraw their exam registrations. Photo: MH

This morning, Ms. Duong Thi Nga - a consultant at Ama English Center continuously received many calls from parents who had registered their children for foreign language certification exams, after receiving information that the British Council had temporarily suspended IELTS certification exams. In addition to questions, some parents also decided to receive their registration fees back and wait for a new exam schedule. The number of parents asking to change the exam schedule is a small number.

Regarding the implementation of the current foreign language certification exams, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh - Director of Ama English Center said: Yesterday, we received a document about the suspension of the exam.IELTS certificate. This is very unexpected and difficult for candidates because they are studying and preparing for the exam. The suspension of the exam leads to students having to maintain prolonged study, some students may be discouraged and the center will also be affected because we have output commitments for candidates. Currentlythere are many parents and studentsCall the center or call me directly to get the situation. We have encouraged parents and students to continue studying to keep their spirits up.

Will the extended exam affectStudent study plan. Photo: MH

In addition to the IELTS exam, 2 months ago, other Cambridge English certificates such as STARTERS, MOVERS and FLYERS, KET, PET were also temporarily suspended, causing many students to miss out on opportunities.

At Ama English Center, according to statistics, each month the center has from 500 to 800 candidates in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces registering to take these certificates.

For the IELTS certificate alone, there are about 50 candidates registering for the exam each month. Currently, the center is also teaching about 500 students to take the IELTS certificate exam and is collaborating with a number of secondary schools in the province to organize 8 IELTS certificate exam classes.

At Vinh University, from 2017 to 2018, the school has cooperated with the British Council in organizing IELTS certification exams. According to the schedule, on November 19, 70 candidates registered through Vinh University and 50 candidates sent by the British Council will take the IELTS certification exam. However, currently all of these exams have beenpostpone

Candidates taking the IELTS certification exam at Vinh University. Photo: PV

This is also an exam that attracts a lot of candidates to participate because according to statistics from the beginning of the year until now, Vinh University has organized 19 exams and about 2,000 students participated to get certificates.

The exam must be held according to regulations.

In Nghe An province, there are currently many units that are partners with the British Council and Cambridge to implement foreign language certification exams. The current trend is that the number of candidates registering for the exam is increasing because this is one of the bases for direct admission to grades 6 and 10 at specialized schools, gifted schools or public high schools. In addition, many universities also consider IELTS certificates as a basis for direct admission.

Regarding the suspension of IELTS certification exams, many students have also expressed their concerns. Student Nguyen Phuong Thao - class 12D - Huynh Thuc Khang High School said: 4 months ago, I took an IELTS certification exam and currently have IELTS 7.5. However, because I wanted to get a higher result, I registered to take the exam again in November but received a notice from the organizing unit that this exam is temporarily postponed. For the past 2 days, I have read many articles about this issue but have not received any response from the organizing unit, so I am quite worried. If the exam is postponed until next year, it will affect my study plan, because after Tet, I plan to spend time on the Competency Assessment Exams and the Graduation Exams for university admission.

Vinh University reviews the list of candidates. Photo: MH

Regarding the postponement of this exam, yesterday, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do also responded to a number of press agencies. According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do, the reason why some organizations/units announced the suspension of organizing foreign language proficiency exams is because the affiliated parties have not yet prepared or completed the application for approval by the Ministry of Education and Training according to the provisions of Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP and Circular No. 11/2022/TT-BGD&DT. That demonstrates the respect and compliance with Vietnamese law by organizations/units (including Decree No. 04/2021/ND-CP dated January 22, 2021 regulating administrative sanctions in the field of education).

Regarding this content, Ms. Tran Thi Tuyet - English teacher - Huynh Thuc Khang High School also added: Recently, studying and taking the IELTS exam has been of interest to many parents and students because of the many benefits it brings. In fact, the postponement of the exam has made many parents and students worried. If the postponement had been announced earlier, it would have helped candidates to be less confused and passive.

Foreign language class of students at Huynh Thuc Khang High School. Photo: MH

Through the media, I see that stopping the exam to conduct surveys, assessments, and supervision of the facilities and exam procedures of the centers is very necessary. As a teacher, I think parents and students should not be too worried. Instead, let's continue to review and complete the administrative procedures to make us feel secure about this exam and create fairness, objectivity, and ensure quality for all candidates.

Teacher Tran Thi Tuyet – English teacher – Huynh Thuc Khang High School

After two days of announcing the suspension of exams, some units that are partners with the British Council have also proactively reviewed the entire exam process from human resources, facilities and other conditions to report to the Ministry of Education and Training in writing.

Through discussion, Dr. Tran Ba ​​Tien - Vice Principal of Vinh University - in charge of organizing foreign language proficiency exams at the school said: The Ministry has just issued an official dispatch requesting companies to cooperate with international organizations to organize exams to assess foreign language proficiency. In terms of state management, this is a completely correct policy for us to review and rectify international education testing. As for candidates, I think, we should not be too worried.because I believe that after the review, the units that meet the requirements will continue to implement the exam and the rights of candidates will be guaranteed. Currently, we have promptly informed candidates about the latest decision of the British Council and I hope that candidates will calmly review for the next exams.

My Ha