Universities unanimously say "no" to block C00: Must be announced 3 years ago

(Dan Tri) - Experts say that the university's change in admission combinations at this time is "puzzling" candidates, and should have been done 3 years ago.

Grade 12 students prepare to take the 2025 High School Graduation Exam with many new points (Photo: Thuy Huong).

Admission combination should be announced 3 years in advance

In just 20 days, the 2025 high school graduation exam, an important milestone for the first batch of students following the 2018 GeneralEducation Program, will take place. However, at this time, many major universities have changed their admission combinations, causing many candidates to fall into the situation of "failing before taking the exam".

According to records, up to now, there have been 5 major universities in the North that do not enroll many key majors in block C00 (combined literature, history, geography), including: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Law (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), Hanoi Capital University, Hanoi Open University, Academy of Journalism and Communication (from 2024).

Instead, these schools prioritize combinations with math or English such as: C03 (math, literature, history), A07 (math, history, geography), A01 (math, physics, English), D01 (math, literature, English), D14 (literature, history, English) and D15 (literature, geography, English) or D66 (literature, economic and legal education, English)...

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, former Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training, emphasized that the problem does not lie in whether block C00 is still suitable or not, but in the learning process and orientation of students.

According to the old program, students were required to study all subjects, take exams in 3 compulsory subjects and 3 combined natural science/social science subjects, so announcing the combination close to the exam would not be too serious.

"But with the 2018 Program, students have to choose elective subjects from grade 10, which is 3 years ago," Mr. Khuyen analyzed.

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, former Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training (Photo: Provided by the character).

2025 is the first year that students studying under the 2018 general education program will complete high school.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, in the 2025 high school graduation exam, students will have to take 4 subjects. Of these, there are 2 compulsory subjects: literature, mathematics and 2 elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12 (foreign language, history, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, economic and legal education, information technology, technology). Notably, foreign language is no longer a compulsory subject.

Therefore, the fact that schools suddenly remove the C00 combination and replace it with another combination is like "puzzling" students, when they do not have time to register for high school or register for exams such as English, economic and legal education...

"Does the school follow a student-centered philosophy or a school-centered philosophy? Whatever the school decides, the candidates must follow it," Mr. Khuyen asked harshly.

He emphasized that the announcement of the admission combination should have been made 3 years in advance, right when students were preparing for the 10th grade entrance exam, so that they could choose the appropriate combination of elective subjects for both high school and university orientation.

When universities do not announce early, students will choose to study in traditional blocks. This sudden change creates anxiety, even depression for students in the context that they have registered for the exam combination for university admission.

“The change must be based on a whole process and the policy of educational innovation according to the 2018 Program, not an immediate decision,” Dr. Le Viet Khuyen expressed.

Mr. Khuyen added that although there are still many other universities recruiting students in block C00, that may not be the wish of all candidates. There are students who have cherished the desire to enter the industry and university for many years and have strived to study well to be able to win admission.

“For example, to be admitted to journalism or public relations with the benchmark score for group C00 always at 28-30 points in recent years, students have had to study hard to achieve this result. However, when the two leading journalism schools no longer recruit this group, where will they go and where will they return?”, he cited.

Huge disadvantage for candidates in block C00

Sharing the same opinion with Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, a former official of the Ministry of Education and Training, said that when changing the admission combination, it needs to be carefully researched and must be suitable to reality.

"The announcement must be made at least 1 year in advance, or even 3 years in advance, when students start choosing subjects in high school," he said.

According to the analysis of the former official, the group of students most affected by the schools simultaneously dropping the C00 block may be those studying in areas with difficult economic conditions and rural areas.

The reason is that studying subjects in block C00 is often more convenient, requires less physical conditions or access to specialized courses and international certificates such as English.

“The registration period for the high school graduation exam ended at 5:00 p.m. on April 28, which means the finalization of exam subjects and subjects that can be combined to create a combination for university admission.

Therefore, candidates who do not register for the necessary subjects for the new combinations will almost have no chance to apply for these majors. This is an extremely big disadvantage for candidates in group C00,” the former official of the Ministry of Education and Training shared.

According to experts, the fact that many schools suddenly "say no" to enrolling students in block C00 will be a big disadvantage for candidates in this block (Illustration: Hai Long).

Experts further analyzed that when developing the plan for high school graduation exams and university admissions, the Ministry did not foresee all situations, especially when universities changed their admission combinations, leading to the story of the gap between graduation exams and university admission combinations as it is today.

This person believes that the announcement of admission combinations and registration of elective subjects need to be done simultaneously, and when there is a "gap" that the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet regulated, the Ministry's role in guiding and coordinating is extremely important.

Education experts emphasize that changing university admission combinations cannot be an arbitrary decision.

To ensure the quality of input and avoid the current situation of "puzzling" candidates, schools need to clarify what basic, fundamental and specialized competencies are required for the training program so that students can study successfully at university level. From there, determine the subjects or entrance exams in a scientific and reasonable manner.

Any changes in the admissions process must be based on thorough research and evaluation, with clear scientific basis, rather than just an immediate decision. Therefore, it is time for the Ministry of Education and Training to issue detailed and specific regulations on this issue.

That not only helps schools have a roadmap and basis to adjust their admission combinations, but also puts an end to the "awkward" situation, causing confusion and disadvantages for candidates, contributing to creating a fairer and more transparent exam and admission process.

According to the 2018 General Education Program, 10th graders will have to study 8 compulsory subjects including: literature, math, foreign language 1, physical education, national defense and security education, experiential activities, career guidance, local education and history.

In addition to the compulsory subjects, students will be able to choose 4 subjects out of 9 subjects including: geography, economic and legal education, physics, chemistry, biology, technology, information technology, music, and fine arts. In addition, students must also choose different study topics.

When registering for the graduation exam, in addition to the two compulsory subjects of literature and math, candidates can only choose two elective subjects from the remaining subjects studied in grade 12.

These graduation exam subjects then form the university admission combinations for the admission method using high school graduation exam scores. The university admission combination must include one of two subjects: math or literature.

Thus, a candidate who registers for the high school graduation exam with 4 subjects: math, literature, history, geography, can only apply for university admission with the following combinations: C03 (math, literature, history), C04 (math, literature, geography), A07 (math, history, geography), C00 (literature, history, geography).

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/dai-hoc-dong-loat-noi-khong-voi-khoi-c00-phai-cong-bo-3-nam-truoc-20250606073643134.htm