Ministry of Education and Training "paves the way" for invalid Aptis certificates

Students come to the British Council office in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, to complain about Aptis certificates, on the afternoon of February 28. Photo: Le Nguyen

In an official dispatch signed on April 26, the Ministry of Education and Training said that upon request, the British Council has committed to issuing additional certificates to candidates who have taken the Aptis exam and obtained an Aptis certificate from November 11 to December 22, 2022.

Aptis certificates issued during this period were previously deemed invalid by the department, contrary to departmental decisions.

The issued certificate has the additional line "This Aptis Candidate report has the same validity as an Aptis ESOL International Cerlificate".

At the same time, the ministry requested Ton Duc Thang University to accept the above certificate to completely resolve the petition of students and their families.

On the evening of April 28, Ton Duc Thang University issued an announcement stating that based on the ministry's official dispatch, the school will recognize students' Aptis certificates, with the condition that they are accompanied by an equivalent certificate from the British Council.

In January, more than 700 students from Ton Duc Thang University and about 100 students from the University of Electricity were in trouble because the Aptis (General) certificate issued by the British Council from November 11 to December 22, 2022 was not recognized by the school for foreign language output standards. Students are at risk of graduating late or having some subjects and internships canceled.

The reason is that during this period, the type of certificate that the British Council was licensed by the Ministry of Education and Training was called Aptis ESOL, not Aptis. However, when students complained, the British Council firmly stated that the two types of certificates were equivalent in value, requiring students to work with the school themselves to get recognition.

Meanwhile, Ton Duc Thang University said there was no legal basis, removing the Aptis certificate from the list of recognized foreign language output standards.

After the school's acceptance announcement yesterday, many Ton Duc Thang University students said they breathed a sigh of relief.

"My friends and I are very happy. We only need to ask the British Council to reissue the certificate as required to be recognized, without having to spend more money and time to take another certificate exam," said Hoang Phong, a fourth-year student.

Thanh Vy, a student of the Faculty of Accounting, said she will now be confident in completing some of her final subjects to graduate on time as her Aptis certificate is recognized by the school.

"The efforts of nearly four months of knocking on doors everywhere by me and my friends have paid off," Vy shared.

Aptis is an English proficiency test awarded by the British Council since 2012, recognized in 85 countries and territories. There are three versions of the Aptis test: Aptis General, Aptis Advanced and Aptis for Teachers.

In Vietnam, many universities recognize this type of certificate to consider foreign language output standards for students such as Hanoi National University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

According to the British Council, the test has now been changed to Aptis ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). The test assesses English proficiency in all four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing, with levels from A1 to C2 based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFR). The test fee is two million VND per session.

According to VnExpress