Solving the traffic flow 'problem'

Student streaming is a common trend in education worldwide. Some countries stream students early, right after primary school, such as Singapore or Germany, but most countries stream students after lower secondary school, that is, when students complete the basic education stage.

Due to various factors, the 10th grade entrance exam in major cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is often quite stressful.

C. SYNCHRONIZATION POLICY

In our country, the policy of vocational training is a consistent principle in the Party and State's educational guidelines. Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW sets the goal: "Ensuring that students at the lower secondary level have a foundational general knowledge, meeting the requirements for strong vocational training after lower secondary school, and that upper secondary school students have access to vocational training and are prepared for quality post-secondary education...".

To achieve the above objective, the National Assembly , the Government, and relevant ministries have issued increasingly comprehensive and complete legal documents on criminal law.

First and foremost, there is the Vocational Education and Training Law, enacted by the National Assembly in 2014, which provides comprehensive regulations on vocational education and training.

Next, the policy of strongly promoting higher education after lower secondary school was concretized in Decision No. 1981/QD-TTg dated October 18, 2016, of the Prime Minister approving the Framework of the National Education System's Qualification Structure. Students graduating from lower secondary school can continue their studies in one of four streams: upper secondary school; basic vocational education; intermediate vocational education; and upper secondary school under the continuing education-vocational education system. The target group for this streaming includes all students graduating from lower secondary school, aged 15, not just average or weak students.

Furthermore, the general education program, issued under Circular No. 32/2018/TT-BGDĐT, is divided into two stages: the basic education stage (from grade 1 to grade 9) and the vocational orientation education stage (from grade 10 to grade 12). This regulation is consistent with global educational standards regarding student rights.

Moreover, the 2019 Education Law stipulates that career guidance and student law are closely linked.

Furthermore, the "Career Guidance and Social Orientation Program in General Education for the period 2018-2025," issued under Decision No. 522/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, sets the following objectives: By 2020, at least 30% of students graduating from lower secondary school will continue their studies at vocational education institutions at the elementary and intermediate levels; for localities with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, the target is at least 25%; by 2025, these two percentages will be 40% and 30% respectively.

The government issued Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP regulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions within the national education system and policies on tuition fee exemption and reduction, support for learning costs, and service prices in the field of education and training. This decree stipulates tuition fee exemption for vocational training for "those who have graduated from lower secondary school and continue their studies at the intermediate level".

The Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 15/2022/TT-BGDĐT, regulating the teaching of high school-level cultural knowledge in vocational education institutions for students with a junior high school diploma. After students have studied and passed the required exams, the vocational education institution will issue a certificate confirming that they have met the high school-level cultural knowledge requirements to pursue higher levels of vocational education. Circular No. 01/2023/TT-BGDĐT promulgates the regulations on the organization and operation of vocational education and continuing education centers.

Thus, since Resolution No. 29 was issued, our country has gradually promulgated legal documents, decrees, circulars, policies, and solutions on student affairs in a synchronized manner, creating conditions for junior high schools, high schools, and vocational training institutions to implement career guidance, student affairs, and vocational training more conveniently and effectively.

The results of the streamlining process are still far from the target.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, during the period 2016-2020, the number of junior high school graduates pursuing vocational training was 980,620, accounting for approximately 66.83% of the total number of students entering vocational colleges. This corresponds to about 196,124 junior high school graduates entering vocational colleges each year, representing nearly 15% of the total.

Every year, as students enter the 10th-grade exam room, parents outside the examination hall are filled with anxiety, worry, and tension.

Nationwide, the post-lower secondary education (LSE) rate still faces many difficulties and is far from the set goals. According to Associate Professor Dr. Do Thi Bich Loan (Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences), most provinces/cities have over 75% of students continuing on to upper secondary education, with some localities even exceeding 80% or 90%. Mountainous provinces face even greater difficulties. For example, according to data from Gia Lai College, during the period 2018-2021, the province had an average of about 80% of lower secondary students continuing on to upper secondary education, 1.8% attending vocational schools, 5.53% attending basic training, and 11.9% entering the workforce.

In pursuit of a strong career path after lower secondary school, several major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, and Hai Phong have recently reduced the enrollment quota for 10th grade in public schools.

Ho Chi Minh City, for example, has made significant progress in post-secondary education, with a declining percentage of students entering 10th grade in high school: In 2014, the percentage of students graduating from lower secondary school and continuing on to upper secondary school was 86.03%, in 2015 it reached 81.09%, in 2019 it was 76.85%, and in recent years it has exceeded 70% (both public and private schools). Nearly 30% of the remaining students attend vocational schools, colleges, or vocational training centers, study abroad, or attend continuing education centers. This is a positive direction, ensuring strong and quality streaming after lower secondary and upper secondary education. As a result, in recent years, Ho Chi Minh City has consistently ranked in the top 10 in the high school graduation exam, and annually, around 70% of high school graduates are admitted to university.

In recent years, the enrollment quota for 10th grade in public schools in Hanoi has fluctuated around 60-70%.

However, due to reduced enrollment quotas for public schools, along with issues such as a shortage of classrooms, uneven educational quality, and parents' reluctance to send their children to vocational training, the 10th grade entrance exam in major cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi has become stressful.

For example, in Hanoi, with over 8 million inhabitants, the capital needs at least 415 high schools, but currently lacks around 150. Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, stated that due to the annual increase in the city's population, the number of students applying for 10th grade has increased rapidly, while the number of newly built and added schools and classrooms has not kept pace with the people's needs.

Vocational education and training remains separate from general education.

There are many reasons why the post-secondary education rate has not met expectations. First, the vast majority of parents and students want to obtain a diploma, at least a high school diploma, and then pursue higher education, vocational training, overseas employment, or direct entry into the workforce.

In countries with advanced education systems, vocational education and training (VET) is integrated with general education and higher education. Therefore, high schools include: technical high schools (for students who will continue on to university), vocational high schools (for students who want to enter the workforce early), and combined/integrated high schools (with vocational training and supplementary general education, and high school general education combined with vocational training for academically strong junior high school students).

In Vietnam, vocational education and general education are managed by two different ministries. Therefore, general education is primarily conducted in high schools (regular high schools and specialized high schools). Even in vocational training and continuing education centers, students mainly attend continuing education programs at the high school level, with vocational training being very rare and gradually dwindling, almost non-existent.

The "9+ Training" model at vocational colleges is a new training approach (similar to Japan), attracting many high-achieving junior high school graduates. With this system, students simultaneously study vocational skills (tuition-free) and general education subjects through continuing education programs. However, there are two obstacles: firstly, students who want to take the high school diploma exam must study general education subjects at vocational training centers; secondly, the majority of students enrolled in the 9+ system are average or weak students, making it difficult to meet the high intensity and demanding requirements of the curriculum, leading many to drop out. (to be continued)

Solutions to reduce stress during the 10th grade entrance exam.

First and foremost, there needs to be widespread dissemination of information in society about laws, policies, and solutions related to student affairs. Career guidance education should raise awareness and improve students' ability to choose a profession, while affirming that workers in today's society should not only know one profession but must have many skills and engage in lifelong learning to easily switch jobs.

The State, ministries, and sectors create favorable conditions, and especially secondary schools encourage academically strong students to pursue the "9+ Training" program at vocational colleges. According to the OECD's PISA assessment results for 15-year-old students, Vietnamese students consistently rank highly, above the average of OECD countries. This confirms that after the age of 15 (secondary school), students are well-equipped to pursue a suitable profession early on.

Vocational colleges and vocational training and continuing education centers need to cooperate easily and conveniently for the benefit of learners by improving the quality of vocational training and creating conditions for students to take exams and obtain high school diplomas.

The education sector and the labor, war invalids, and social affairs sector are collaborating to build an information system for forecasting local human resource needs, training needs, and training qualification structures to effectively serve career guidance education in junior and senior high schools.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/giam-cang-thang-thi-lop-10-giai-bai-toan-phan-luong-185240619215636982.htm