Candidates with strong foreign language skills have a greater chance of getting into military schools.

The 2017 admissions process for universities and colleges within the military, based on the results of the national high school graduation exam, has several new features.

There are more opportunities for candidates with foreign language proficiency, with the A01 (Mathematics, Physics, Foreign Language) and D01 (Mathematics, Literature, Foreign Language) subject combinations for admission. In addition, many schools have adjusted their health criteria, such as not admitting candidates with refractive errors or nearsightedness.

This information was provided by Lieutenant General Professor Dr. Tran Huu Phuc, Director of the Department of Military Schools and Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Military Recruitment Board of the Ministry of National Defense, in an interview with the press.

Major General, Associate Professor, Doctor Tran Huu Phuc, Director of the Department of Military Schools, and Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Military Recruitment Board of the Ministry of National Defense, answers the interview questions.

PV: Comrade, we understand that the 2017 entrance exam will offer more opportunities for candidates with foreign language skills to become students at military universities and colleges. Could you please elaborate on this and explain the reasons for this adjustment?

Professor Tran Huu Phuc:In 2017, the military placed greater emphasis on recruiting students with better foreign language skills. This was evident in some schools adding students from the A01 group. Schools that implemented this in 2016 will retain it, but in 2017, the Army Officer School 1 and the Military Engineering Officer School were added. The Political Officer School also added the D1 group, which also requires foreign language skills, hoping that students with sufficient foreign language proficiency will be able to register for long-term service in the military.

Secondly, regarding admission scores, we have the same admission combination, with both combination A and combination A01 having the same cutoff score. Therefore, we hope that foreign language proficiency will be prioritized to allow candidates with foreign language skills to join the military. This is also due to the increased demands of military and defense diplomacy and the special military tasks of building a revolutionary, regular army that meets the requirements of the new situation.

PV: Comrade, how are the priorities based on household registration address and region being implemented this year?

Professor Tran Huu Phuc:Due to the diverse regional requirements for military training, there are separate admission criteria for the South and the North. To address technical issues, this year we have also stipulated that applicants must have had a continuous household registration for three years, including at least one year of high school (grade 12) and exams in that location. This is to prevent situations where applicants register their household registration in a different location despite living in one place.

PV: Regarding health criteria, this year some military schools have clearly stipulated that they will not admit candidates with refractive errors or nearsightedness, and have also adjusted the height requirements for admission. Could you please elaborate on this?

Professor Tran Huu Phuc:It can be said that the demands of the job are becoming increasingly higher, so this year, some schools for political and logistics command officers, such as the Logistics Academy, the Air Defense and Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, the Border Guard Academy, and the Army Officer Schools 1 and 2, the Political Officer School, the Artillery School, the Engineering School, the Armored School, the Special Forces School, the Communications School, and the Chemical Defense School, are not recruiting candidates with refractive errors or myopia.

For male candidates from the 16 ethnic minority groups included in the Government's Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee's socio-economic development support project for very small ethnic groups in the 2016-2020 period, we have set the height requirement at 1.6 meters or more. Regarding health, we place great importance on health check-ups to ensure that the candidates are healthy enough to serve long-term in the military.

PV: According to the regulations for military recruitment.,This year, in cases where multiple candidates have the same score and the number of admitted students exceeds the allocated quota, schools will use the scores of the subjects in the combination designated as the main subjects of the chosen major as a secondary criterion for admission. Why not use academic transcripts for admission, sir?

Professor Tran Huu Phuc:This year, our supplementary criteria are based directly on the students' exam scores, rather than updating them according to their academic transcripts, because transcripts are very large and complex, and also complicated for schools. By implementing the supplementary criterion of exam scores, students can determine their scores immediately, making it very open, transparent, and convenient.

Yes, thank you, comrade!

According to VOV