Parents express outrage over ban on 6th grade exams: 'How will thousands of report cards with all perfect scores be evaluated?'

The news that junior high schools will have to use entrance exams for grade 6 and will not be allowed to hold exams from 2025 onwards has caused many parents to worry and feel indignant.

Since hearing the news that the Ministry of Education and Training will abolish entrance exams for grade 6 from 2025, including for high-quality secondary schools, Ms. Dang Thuy Quynh (41 years old, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) has been restless and worried about the future of her 5th-grade son.

Aiming for her child to attend the prestigious Thanh Xuan Secondary School and the specialized Foreign Language Secondary School, Ms. Quynh invested seriously in her child's education from the second grade onwards, ensuring four extra tutoring sessions per week in Math, Vietnamese, and Foreign Languages.

Each tutoring session at the center costs 250,000 VND, averaging 16 sessions per month, costing approximately 4 million VND. On average, the cost of tutoring alone for her child is nearly 50 million VND per year. Including grades 2, 3, and 4, this amounts to almost 120 million VND, not including grade 5 where the number of tutoring sessions doubles to keep up with the pace. Even so, Ms. Quynh believes this investment is still "insignificant" compared to many other families.

" My child put in the effort, and my parents invested money, all working together to get into a high-quality school for nearly four years. Now, the Ministry of Education and Training has issued a regulation banning entrance exams for grade 6, leaving the whole family shocked and regretful about the money we've invested," said Ms. Quynh.

Many parents are in a similar situation; they disagree with this approach and believe that only entrance exams can accurately and fairly assess students' abilities.

Parents who spent hundreds of millions of VND on their children's exam preparation are shocked when the Ministry of Education and Training bans entrance exams for grade 6. (Illustrative image)

Besides regretting the effort and money spent on his child's exam preparation over the past period, Mr. Bui The Phong (39 years old, Hoang Mai, Hanoi ) is concerned that secondary schools that only select students based on academic transcripts will be unfair. This is because the practice of requesting or even buying grades still exists. The grading and evaluation methods of secondary schools vary, making it difficult to accurately reflect students' abilities.

"Prohibiting high-quality schools from holding entrance exams is inappropriate and unreasonable. In reality, as in previous years, it's not uncommon for students who have achieved excellent academic results for five consecutive years and have perfect grades on their report cards to fail the entrance exam for grade 6," Phong cited as an example.

According to the father, his son had been focusing all his energy on preparing for the secondary school entrance exam, neglecting all other competitions and awards. If schools now switch to admissions based on academic records, his son will have no achievements to include in his application, apart from a report card full of perfect scores.

"For high-quality schools, if there's no entrance exam to assess aptitude, what criteria will the school use for admissions when there are tens of thousands of perfect scores on report cards in Hanoi and the number of applications exceeds the quota?" , Mr. Phong questioned.

Ms. Pham Thi Yen (37 years old, Long Bien, Hanoi) also expressed her frustration about the cancellation of the entrance exam for grade 6 and worried that the selection process would easily lead to more negative consequences, especially favoritism and backdoor deals to secure a place in top schools.

"The quotas are limited, and the number of applications to top schools is high, making it easy for wealthy parents to manipulate grades from the first grade and buy awards at the city level for their children. Meanwhile, the entrance exam will help classify students better, ensuring genuine teaching, learning, and testing that is fair and impartial. Schools can also be assured of the quality of their incoming students," Ms. Yen said.

Parents hope that, if regulations are introduced, schools will provide specific and detailed guidelines so that candidates feel a sense of transparency and fairness in the competition to get into prestigious, high-quality schools.

According to the regulations on secondary and high school admissions recently announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, from the 2025-2026 school year, admission to grade 6 will be based on selection criteria. A representative from the Ministry of Education and Training stated that the new circular aims to reduce the pressure of entrance exams for primary school students. Therefore, private schools and high-quality schools will also use selection criteria, not entrance exams.

The admission criteria are guided by the Department of Education and Training of each province and city, ensuring fairness, objectivity, and suitability to the actual situation. For secondary schools affiliated with universities, the admission criteria may follow the guidelines of the governing body or the locality where the university is located.

Regarding the process, the People's Committee at the district level will approve the enrollment plan for grade 6, including information on eligible candidates, quotas, geographical areas, criteria, selection timeline, and announcement of results. The enrollment plan is announced before March 31st of each year.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cam-thi-lop-6-phu-huynh-buc-xuc-vai-nghin-hoc-ba-toan-diem-10-se-xet-ra-sao-ar919091.html