This is a positive trend, not only opening up more opportunities for candidates but also encouraging the movement of learning English at high school level, contributing to improving the foreign language proficiency of Vietnamese people.
However, with the trend of international English certificate examination, the story of inequality in accessto education is raised, because the majority of students in rural, remote areas do not have the conditions to study and take these certificates.
In the 2025 admission season, even with an international certificate, candidates will not be admitted directly as before, but with the admission regulations converted according to a 10-point scale or adding priority points with a maximum of 3 points on a 30-point scale, those who possess an international certificate will be very advantageous.
In particular, when this year's high school graduation exam in English is considered difficult, IELTS 7.0 candidates can only get about 7 - 8 points, while IELTS 6.5 is converted to 10 points by many schools, the issue of inequality in admissions becomes even "hotter".
Finding solutions to both maintain the positive effects of English certificate examination and encourage disadvantaged students to invest and study this subject better has been discussed in many forums. In this context, promoting the coverage of domestic English certificates - VSTEP is mentioned by many people.
Since 2024, VSTEP has been permitted by the Ministry of Education and Training to be used for high school graduation exams. The number of universities licensed to organize VSTEP certification exams has increased sharply, from more than 20 (in 2024) to 38 establishments (as of April 2025).
Several large universities such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Academy of Journalism and Communication... have used VSTEP for admission and rated the reliability of this certificate as very high.
Besides, VSTEP has many advantages suitable for the majority of students such as: Designed specifically for Vietnamese people, the test content closely follows the general education program, the test cost is only from 1.2 - 1.8 million VND, significantly lower than international certificates.
VSTEP has many advantages suitable for students in disadvantaged areas, but currently the number of universities that consider this certificate is still limited compared to international certificates. Many candidates still choose to take IELTS, TOEFL... instead of VSTEP. There are many reasons for this situation, the most notable of which is that VSTEP has not yet completed its academic document system.
Many candidates and teachers said that with other international language certificates, it is not difficult for learners to find practice materials that are close to the exam questions, while since the VSTEP exam was launched, there has not been any official book for this certificate. Most of the current materials are compiled by exam preparation centers.
This makes the self-study process of learners difficult, so VSTEP is less competitive in the market. In addition, communication work and raising awareness for students to choose certificates suitable for their goals and economic conditions have not been invested in a systematic way.
Investing early in some English certificates not only helps candidates have more opportunities to enter university but is also an essential part of their global integration. To give students in disadvantaged areas equal opportunities as those in better-off areas, increasing the appeal and expanding the VSTEP exam is a meaningful solution.
In addition, unifying a standard framework for adding points and converting English certificates in university admissions is also necessary, to both ensure fairness in education and contribute to improving foreign language proficiency for Vietnamese people.
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/huong-den-cong-bang-trong-tuyen-sinh-post738345.html
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