Controversy over medical admissions using Literature: Ministry of Education and Training speaks out

On the morning of May 28, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training, said that in the coming time, the Ministry will review the overall admission methods of schools. If necessary, it will request relevant training institutions to report and explain issues of concern to society.

According to the Department Director, for specialized issues such as university admission combinations, entrance subjects, etc., it is necessary to listen to training units and experts in the corresponding specific fields.

In the discussion about Literature in the medical entrance exam at some private universities, experts and medical training schools have spoken out that this professional issue is very important and is a very positive signal.

Controversy over medical admissions using Literature: Ministry of Education and Training speaks out - 1 — Students practice medical testing. (Illustration: MK)

The criticism from society, the community, the press, experts..., the schools also exchanged and explained to society, to candidates, to state management agencies... all showed positivity, exuding the spirit of university autonomy, coupled with accountability.

The Ministry of Education and Training highly appreciates the press agencies for conveying the professional voices of experts, opinions from medical schools, etc. These are very important perspectives for policy-making agencies, Ms. Thuy emphasized. The opinions of professional agencies, experts, parents and candidates are multi-dimensional information channels for research and selection.

In the matter of enrollment and training in the medical field, the leaders of the Department of Higher Education emphasized the role of the Ministry of Health as being particularly important. According to the Prime Minister's decision, the Ministry of Health is in charge of developing training program standards for the medical field. In particular, it is necessary to ensure not only the regulations on input standards, but also other requirements on quality conditions and output standards for each field, group of fields, and training sector.

The entrance standards of the training program need to clearly define the minimum requirements for qualifications, abilities, and experience appropriate to each level, industry, and training orientation that learners need to meet in order to successfully study and complete the training program.

When regulating the entrance standards, the Ministry of Health needs to clearly stipulate the requirements on knowledge, capacity... of learners, which may include requirements on knowledge of subjects in the admission combination or entrance capacity assessment test.

The Director added that universities with inappropriate admission forms and methods, and low admission rates, will have their reputation, brand, and training quality affected. In the long run, candidates will certainly not choose to study there.

The 2023 university admissions season caused a surprise when 4 universities announced that they would include Literature in the medical entrance exam.

Specifically, in the 4 admission methods to Van Lang University (HCMC) in 2023, there are 3 traditional combinations A00, B00 and D08 and 1 new combination D12 (Literature, Chemistry, English).

Vo Truong Toan University (Hau Giang) and Tan Tao University (Long An) use combination B03 (Math, Literature, Biology) in the method of considering high school graduation exam scores to recruit medical students.

Duy Tan University also recruits students for the Medical major using 4 combinations: A16 (Math, Natural Sciences, Literature), B00, D90 (Math, Natural Sciences, Foreign Languages) and D08.

The fact that schools add Literature to the admissions combination has caused controversy among the public. Dr. Hoang Duc Bach, Hanoi Medical University, said that the addition of Literature to the medical entrance exam has no real meaning, simply because the schools want to increase competition and attract candidates "at all costs". The strange admissions combination only appears in private schools and schools with difficulty recruiting students, and large universities in the medical field do not do this absurd thing.

This doctor believes that such recruitment has many concerns, because the medical profession not only needs talented people but also very suitable people. To pursue a medical career, academic ability is not enough, and the medical profession is not a profession that can be trained on a mass basis.

On the contrary, Associate Professor, Dr. Dau Xuan Canh, Chairman of the Vietnam Oriental Medicine Association, former Director of the Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine, supports the fact that some universities have Literature as a subject in medical admissions.

"This is not the first time public opinion has been stirred up about this issue. Since 2018, when the first school introduced Literature into the admissions process, it has caused mixed opinions. However, we need to frankly acknowledge that the quality of students is still guaranteed and this is also considered a test step for other universities to look at," he said.

Ha Cuong

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