The Ministry of Finance tightens early admission quotas, candidates worry

Are candidates’ rights affected when only 20% of the quota is reserved for early university admission? This is the concern of many parents and students when the Ministry of Education and Training tightens the quota for early admission of universities when the first semester of this school year is almost over.

Need to understand early admission correctly

Nguyen Thu Ha, a 12th grade student at Nguyen Trai High School (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi) is quite worried when following information about changes in the 2025 university entrance exam as this is the first year that schools will consider students who completed the 2018 GeneralEducation Program.

"We are under a lot of pressure as we are the first batch of students to take the high school graduation exam under the 2018 General Education Program. The change in university admission regulations also makes us worried as the admission period will start from the second semester. We have all prepared the application requirements to participate in early admission with many methods of universities," said Nguyen Thu Ha.

The draft Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Regulations on university and college admissions for Preschool Education stipulates that training institutions can organize early admissions in an appropriate manner to select candidates with outstanding abilities and academic achievements.

The early admission quota is determined by the training institution but does not exceed 20% of the quota for each training major or group; ensuring that the early admission benchmark (after equivalent conversion) is not lower than the admission benchmark of the general planned admission round.

Responding to concerns from parents and students, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training), affirmed: "Candidates do not need to worry. Whether in the early admission stage or the admission stage according to the general plan of the Ministry of Education and Training, candidates can still participate in the admission process using different admission methods that they have prepared for.

For the past 2 years, the Ministry of Education and Training has provided full data on high school academic results (report cards) and supported schools in organizing their own exams (such as capacity assessment, thinking assessment, etc.), uploading exam results to the general admission system, creating favorable conditions for training institutions to conduct admissions during the general admissions round. Therefore, the draft Circular does not restrict any admission methods of schools."

According to Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy, schools and students are confusing the concept of "early admission" and admission methods (there is no method called "early admission method", because schools can use admission methods in all admission rounds).

The draft university admission regulations for 2025 aim to create fairness for all candidates. Early admission is only encouraged for candidates with outstanding achievements, while the remaining admission methods according to the general plan of the Ministry of Education and Training do not affect the rights of candidates or universities. In addition, the Ministry also stipulates that the admission score in the early admission round must not be lower than the admission score in the general admission round to ensure fairness for candidates, when not all candidates are eligible to take separate exams or have international certificates for early admission. Candidates can rest assured and be confident, continue to make every effort, study and review well to achieve the highest results within their capacity and they will have the opportunity to compete fairly to enter the school and major they love.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training

Due to the misunderstanding that only early admissions can use "private" admission methods (without using high school graduation exam scores), schools are worried about being limited to 20% of the quota.

Also because of misunderstanding, candidates worry about being limited in their admission opportunities in the admission methods that schools use such as considering academic records, considering scores of competency assessment exams, assessing thinking, etc.

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"Rampant early admission causes instability in the quality of general education"

This is the assessment of many teachers and high school administrators when many schools offer too many admission methods and announce university admission results early before candidates finish their school year program and take the high school graduation exam.

The positive side of early admission is that students will focus on studying to get good grades to have a good academic record and achieve high results in the ability assessment and thinking assessment. However, the negative side of this is that students will have the mindset that they have passed the university entrance exam, they do not need high scores for the high school graduation exam, they just need enough points to pass.

Although these students still go to school, they do not concentrate and miss a lot of school, affecting the learning spirit of their classmates.

Besides, some students only focus on reviewing for competency assessment exams or taking English certificate exams, leading to unbalanced learning.

"Early admission does not stimulate students to study and strive in the second semester of grade 12. Some students are no longer interested in studying to get high scores in the High School Graduation Exam.

This leads to the graduation exam results not reflecting the true ability of students in all 3 years of high school. I hope that university admission methods should announce the results at the same time. This will limit the situation where students neglect their studies after knowing the results," said Ms. Vu Phuong Anh, a teacher at Doan Thi Diem Ecopark High School ( Hung Yen province).

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/bo-tinh-siet-chi-tieu-xet-tuyen-som-thi-sinh-lo-20241202112101011.htm