The appeal of separate exams

TP - Although the Ministry of Education and Training has made some adjustments to tighten quotas for early admission methods, the intensity of the entrance exams organized by major universities has not diminished. The Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges recommends that the Ministry of Education and Training should not interfere too deeply and should not impose quotas for different admission methods of higher education institutions.

TP - Although the Ministry of Education and Training has made some adjustments to tighten quotas for early admission methods, the intensity of the entrance exams organized by major universities has not diminished. The Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges recommends that the Ministry of Education and Training should not interfere too deeply and should not impose quotas for different admission methods of higher education institutions.

Priority will be given to candidates based on their individual entrance exam results.

On the first day of registration for the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) exam at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, four days ago, more than 13,000 candidates registered. In 2024, the first round of the TSA exam had nearly 2,800 registered candidates. The Admissions Board predicts that the first round next year will have approximately 15,000-16,000 registered candidates, an increase of more than five times compared to this year.

Associate Professor Nguyen Phong Dien, Vice Director of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, shared that the university is waiting for the official 2025 admissions regulations to be issued before developing an optimal admissions plan. Professor Dien anticipates that the talent-based admissions method (early admissions method) will maintain 20% of the quota as in previous years. The TSA exam results-based admissions method will use techniques to convert scores to a 30/30 scale and consider them alongside the high school graduation exam results. According to Professor Dien, candidates can use both methods simultaneously for admission. However, the quota for the TSA exam results-based admissions method will still have a larger weighting.

In 2025, the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City will only retain 3 admission methods: direct admission; admission based on aptitude test scores organized by the university; and admission based on high school graduation exam scores. Member universities are encouraged to use combined admission methods. Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine is expected to have 6 admission methods this year, including: high school graduation exam results; direct admission according to the regulations of the admission rules; using aptitude and thinking skills assessment results organized by other units for admission; using only international certificates for admission; combining high school graduation exam results with international certificates for admission; and using other methods. Compared to 2024, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine has added 3 more admission methods.

Candidates prepare multiple options for participating in the 2025 university entrance exams. (Photo: NHU Y)

Hanoi University of Education announced that, as of now, 22 higher education institutions have registered to use the university's aptitude test scores for their 2025 entrance examinations, an increase of 13 institutions compared to this year.

In the draft Circular amending and supplementing some articles of the Regulations on university admissions in 2025, a new content that has received public support is the technical solution to tighten the admission process based on high school transcripts for universities.

The Ministry of Education and Training requires that the admission scores for all admission methods and subject combinations used must be converted to a common, unified scale for each program, major, and group of majors; ensuring that the admission cutoff score for early admission (after conversion) is not lower than the admission cutoff score for the general admission round. Therefore, this requirement mandates that the cutoff scores for all admission methods of a given major must be at the same level. If using academic transcripts for admission, the student's academic results for the entire 12th grade year must be used.

Explaining the stricter regulations on early admissions, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Higher Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training, said that the Ministry's decision to limit early admissions quotas is based on the practical situation of student recruitment in recent years. The Ministry's goal is to focus early admissions only on candidates with outstanding abilities and academic achievements, minimizing the impact on students' studies in the final semester of 12th grade and their preparation for the high school graduation exam.

Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, Chairman of the University Council of the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, supports the regulation on limiting the time and quota for early admission based on academic transcripts, because for many years, the results assessed based on academic transcripts have consistently been higher than the high school results. According to him, there is still a tendency towards leniency and favoritism in evaluating based on academic transcripts.

The Ministry of Education and Training should not interfere too deeply.

The Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges has recently sent a document to the Ministry of Education and Training proposing several solutions to ensure consistency between the content of the 2018 general education curriculum, the organization of the high school graduation exam, and university admissions in 2025.

The document states that the draft regulations on university admissions from 2025, currently open for public comment, are still subject to much debate and conflicting opinions. The Association recommends that the Ministry of Education and Training should regulate the quality assessment of university admission methods; eliminate admission methods that do not guarantee the quality of incoming students; require higher education institutions to explain their choice of subject combinations; and standardize reasonable subject combinations for admission, resolutely eliminating "unusual" combinations.

The association recommends that the Ministry of Education and Training should not interfere too deeply or impose quotas on different admission methods of higher education institutions. Instead, the Ministry of Education and Training should regulate a reasonable quota for admission based on high school graduation exam results to ensure fairness for candidates from disadvantaged areas who do not have the opportunity to participate in international certification exams and separate exams organized by higher education institutions…

NGHIEM HUE

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-2025-suc-hut-ki-thi-rieng-post1697565.tpo