Candidates participating in the Hanoi University of Education's aptitude test in 2025 - Photo: NGUYEN BAO
With only about 20 days left until the 2025 high school graduation exam, the first exam for students following the 2018 general education program, many candidates in the humanities and social sciences (Block C) are suddenly confused as at least five major universities in the North have unexpectedly removed the C00 combination (literature, history, geography) from many of their admission criteria.
Instead, schools are considering many new subject combinations, but candidates taking the two elective subjects of history and geography cannot access these combinations.
Some schools even completely "rejected" the C00 exam, leaving many candidates in a passive position and facing the risk of failing before even taking the exam because their chosen exam subject group no longer aligns with the new admission criteria.
To understand why universities are eliminating the C00 subject combination, we can look at the implementation of the new general education program as well as the reality of university admissions over the past years.
In recent years' high school graduation exams, social science subjects have consistently been chosen by significantly more candidates than natural science subjects.
In 2024, the number of candidates in the C00 subject group increased by approximately 20,000 compared to 2023, and this year also saw many record-breaking scores in the high school graduation exam for this subject group. This is why the cut-off scores for many majors and universities that accept C00 group candidates have increased dramatically.
From 2024, all secondary education levels will follow the 2018 curriculum, which aims to provide students with greater flexibility in choosing subjects. Candidates will have the ability to choose from 26 subject combinations completely freely.
According to the survey results, students nationwide have a very diverse range of subject combinations to choose from. It is rare for them to study multiple subjects from traditional combinations simultaneously; instead, they spread their studies across all subjects.
In fact, nowadays all universities consider a wide variety of subject combinations for admission, not just the traditional combinations used in the past.
Some majors require admission based on a combination of many different subjects in the C group: C01 (literature, mathematics, physics); C02 (literature, mathematics, chemistry); C03 (literature, mathematics, history); C14 (mathematics, literature, economic and legal education); C08 (literature, chemistry, biology)...
Thus, the diversification of subject combinations by universities, especially by adding mathematics and English, helps to select candidates with a comprehensive knowledge base, meeting the requirements of modern academic fields and the trend of internationalization.
However, announcing the change in the admission criteria 20 days before the exam put candidates at a disadvantage because, under the 2018 program, students had to choose elective subjects as early as grade 10, which was three years prior.
This year's high school graduation exam, considering both independent candidates and current 12th-grade students, shows that besides the two compulsory subjects (literature and mathematics), social science subjects have an overwhelming number of registered candidates compared to other subjects. Among these, history and geography are chosen by nearly 50% of candidates.
The above figures show the current trends in students' choices of subjects and careers. Business and management fields have consistently held the top position for many years in terms of the number of students admitted and enrolled in universities.
Based on the examination and admission methods over the years, students choosing business and management majors often invest heavily in mathematics, English, and social sciences.
In reality, students are increasingly choosing not to pursue engineering and technology-related fields (excluding information technology, the percentage of students in engineering and technology majors is only 12%, which is very low compared to other fields).
While our country is oriented towards developing science and technology and industrialization, the labor market, especially in the engineering and technology sectors, is facing a severe shortage of manpower.
The development of science and technology threatens the country's development because perceptions of professions are becoming distorted.
Given the current situation, it is necessary to re-evaluate the admissions mindset and implement appropriate policies. The selection of admission combinations should be based on the critical thinking skills required by the chosen field of study, rather than simply memorizing specific subjects.
Instead of admitting students based on exam scores in a combination of subjects, admitting students based on the results of aptitude and critical thinking assessment exams would be more appropriate.
The aptitude test includes a section on scientific thinking. This section will assess logical reasoning, data analysis, and scientific inference through solving practical problems, as well as problems related to science, technology, society, economics, and law.
Therefore, all candidates, regardless of their specialization in physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, etc., can still use their reasoning and scientific thinking skills to answer the questions.
The Ministry of Education and Training needs to create conditions for universities to focus on assessing candidates' practical abilities through exams or other assessments, instead of relying on traditional exam subjects. This change in admission methods could benefit the education system.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khoi-c-bat-ngo-lan-mat-20250607080538865.htm
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