To develop human resources in a harmonious way.

The fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training has affirmed that Vietnamese general education consists of 12 years, divided into two stages: basic education (from grade 1 to grade 9) and vocational orientation (from grade 10 to grade 12). This is entirely consistent with global education, as most countries divide general education into two stages. Therefore, the OECD's PISA assessment program aims to evaluate 15-year-old students, who have just completed basic education.

The PISA program assesses three main areas: mathematics, reading comprehension, and science . Assessments are conducted every three years, with one area receiving particular focus. The 2021 exam was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and postponed to 2022. Vietnam has participated in the PISA assessment since 2012 and has consistently ranked highly compared to other participating countries and territories, placing second among Southeast Asian countries (after Singapore).

However, Vietnam's PISA assessment results have declined significantly since 2022, reaching their lowest ranking in 2022 across all fields. The COVID-19 pandemic may be the cause. However, many educators point out that in recent years, the proportion of students choosing social science subjects in the high school graduation exam has consistently been dominant. In 2024, the national ratio was 63% social science and 37% natural science, with some localities even having ratios as high as 90% and 10%. This trend has impacted students' learning. From the junior high school years, students focus on studying mathematics, literature, and a foreign language to prepare for the 10th grade entrance exam, and study social science subjects to increase their chances of achieving high scores in the high school graduation exam. This trend has led to a decline in the scientific abilities of 15-year-old Vietnamese students, making the drop in science rankings inevitable.

The goal of ensuring that students achieve a comprehensive and fundamental level of general education upon completing lower secondary education, with strong differentiation after lower secondary education, has been consistent from Resolution No. 29 to the 2019 Education Law and the 2018 General Education Program.

Currently, parents, students, and society as a whole desire to minimize pressure in the education and examination process, aiming for the easiest learning environment and the highest possible pass rate for students. However, for the country to develop in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has transformed production, the economy, and society, a large workforce in science, technology, engineering, economics, and services is needed, especially in AI and semiconductors.

Therefore, it is crucial to change the perception of students, parents, and society as a whole, that all subjects are equal in the basic education stage. Student assessment and grading should not discriminate based on subject, and that any subject contributes to a student's future success.

To ensure students have sufficient academic capacity at the high school level, and to select subject combinations and exams based on the human resource needs of the locality and the country, aiming to improve the quality of human resources to lead Vietnam into an era of national development, reducing exam pressure by announcing the high school entrance exam plan earlier is necessary, but it must ensure comprehensive goals at the lower secondary level. Otherwise, the educational reform will fail when students choose subjects and take the high school graduation exam that are contrary to the human resource needs for national development.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-phat-trien-hai-hoa-nguon-nhan-luc-185241207160054763.htm