The proliferation of separate university entrance exams, causing pressure and expense for candidates?

In recent years, university admission plans have been evaluated quite diversely with methods such as considering high school graduation exam scores, considering academic records, considering international certificates, etc. In which, organizing a separate exam to obtain admission results is considered an independent method, becoming a trend as more and more schools organize it.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Linh, a teacher at Thai Binh High School for the Gifted, having more separate exams separate from the high school graduation exam helps students have more opportunities to enter university, but it also easily leads to scattered exam preparation and a decrease in quality.

“The advantage of separate exams is that they create more opportunities for candidates to be admitted, and at the same time help schools be more proactive in choosing schools. Most 12th graders currently register for these exams, some register for 3-4 exams,” Ms. Linh said, worrying that students choosing too many exams at the same time will cause mental pressure and incur additional exam costs.

Sharing the same opinion, Ms. Phan Thi Ben, a teacher at Hong Duc High School (Dak Lak) expressed that the proliferation of separate exams creates a lot of pressure for both teachers and students. Students "struggle" to study for exams while teachers have to constantly update their knowledge and the latest requirements of the exams to improve their professional qualifications and at the same time guide students.

“The ability assessment or thinking assessment test is not easy, even considered more difficult than the high school graduation exam, so not all students can meet the requirements. This year, I saw that universities organized test sites in some provinces, but usually in big cities. This unintentionally made it difficult for students in remote areas and ethnic minority areas to access the exam,” said Ms. Ben.

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, former Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training) is concerned that organizing separate exams to serve university admissions seems to be becoming a trend in recent years.

Quoting the spirit of Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen said that it is necessary to aim for a simplified general exam, reducing inconvenience for students and parents.

If more and more separate exams are held, it is going against the spirit of the resolution. To rectify this problem, State management agencies as well as the Ministry of Education and Training need to have stronger opinions and decisions.

“The Law on Higher Education does not prohibit schools from having autonomy in their admission plans, meaning that it does not prohibit schools from organizing their own entrance exams. However, if schools want to organize their own exams, they must prove that the exams are better organized and more effective than the high school graduation exams organized by the Ministry of Education and Training,” said Dr. Le Viet Khuyen.

According to the Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, many schools around the world have applied separate admission methods, but this method is suitable for the conditions and education management system of that country, while in Vietnam it is not guaranteed.

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen gave an example that the exam questions of the current separate exams are often comprehensive, covering knowledge from grades 10 to 12 and are considered basic tests to assess the candidates' abilities more comprehensively. To achieve this, the experts who create the questions must be truly knowledgeable about measurement and evaluation in education. In fact, in many universities, we are very rare and lacking such experts.

"Organizing exams is not simple. If schools compete to organize their own exams while the quality is not guaranteed, it will only create more burden for candidates," said Dr. Khuyen, adding that having too many exams will easily cause waste and expense. Candidates' psychology can also be affected because they want to "take on" many exams to increase their chances of being admitted to university.

In 2024, in addition to large-scale private exams used as a basis for admission by many universities, such as the competency assessment exam of Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University; the thinking assessment exam of Hanoi University of Science and Technology; the People's Public Security recruitment assessment exam of the Ministry of Public Security; the competency assessment exam of Hanoi Pedagogical University and Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical University, there will also be a number of private exams of Can Tho University, Vietnam-Germany University, Banking Academy, Saigon University, and University of Finance and Marketing.