Why do provinces recruit directly and add 10th grade points from 4.0 IELTS?

Prioritizing candidates with IELTS certificates is to create motivation to learn foreign languages, contributing to improving the quality of keyeducation , according to the explanation of Quang Tri and Tuyen Quang provinces.

Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee approved the public 10th grade enrollment plan in early February. Accordingly, candidates with an IELTS certificate of 4.0 or higher or equivalent are exempted from the English test, converted to 9 points for this subject, applicable to both specialized and non-specialized schools. The converted score for a 4.5 and 5.0 IELTS certificate is 9.5 and 10 points.

This is the third consecutive year that Quang Tri has exempted English proficiency tests for students with IELTS. Two years ago, the province applied this admission method, but with a higher bonus score: If the candidate achieves 4.0 IELTS, they will be awarded 10 points.

Mr. Mai Huy Phuong, Deputy Director of the Quang Tri Department of Education and Training, said there are two reasons for the province to apply this policy. One is to motivate students, helping them learn foreign languages better. The other is to reduce "unnecessary" exam pressure for candidates who already have certificates.

This is also the viewpoint of Tuyen Quang province when giving priority to candidates with IELTS. From 2022, the province will directly admit candidates with 5.0 IELTS to non-specialized public high schools. For ethnic boarding schools and specialized English classes, Tuyen Quang Specialized High School, the requirements are 6.0 and 7.0 IELTS, respectively. If having IELTS is not enough for direct admission, candidates will be given 1-2 extra points, depending on the school.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of this province, said that the policy aims to promote English learning, contributing to training high-quality human resources in the locality. According to him, the English learning movement in Tuyen Quang still has many limitations. The average score of the annual English graduation exam in this locality is below average.

In addition to Quang Tri and Tuyen Quang, many other localities such as Vinh Long, Binh Duong, and Lao Cai this year also give priority points or exempt English exams for candidates with IELTS from 4.0.

In previous years, the local group that directly recruited candidates with IELTS included Nghe An and Phu Tho. Last year, to be admitted to Phan Boi Chau Specialized School in Nghe An, candidates had to achieve a minimum score of 7.0, while other schools had a range of 6.0-6.5. Phu Tho only applies this to mainstream schools, with a requirement of 6.5 IELTS or higher. These two provinces have not announced their 10th grade enrollment plan this year.

Students of Nguyen Sieu School, Hanoi, August 2023. Photo: School website — Students of Nguyen Sieu School, Hanoi, August 2023. Photo: *School website*

In the regulations on secondary and high school admission issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2019, the conditions for direct admission and bonus points to grade 10 do not mention international language certificates.

Candidates are admitted directly to grade 10 if they belong to one of four groups: studying at a boarding school for ethnic minorities, being from a very small ethnic group, having a disability, or winning national or international awards in culture, arts, sports, science and technology.

If the candidate is a child of a martyr, a war invalid, a sick soldier, a person infected with toxic chemicals, a labor hero, a member of the armed forces, living and studying in an area with difficult socio-economic conditions, the candidate will receive bonus points, the score level is determined by the locality.

Mr. Phuong said that Quang Tri province strictly followed the regulations of the Ministry when adding points and directly admitting students in the above groups. However, according to the authority of the locality, the Department advised the province to add preferential policies for candidates with English certificates and winning provincial-level excellent student awards.

"Candidates with certificates or provincial awards are all capable and do not need to take any more exams. This is reasonable," said Mr. Phuong.

In Tuyen Quang, Mr. Hien acknowledged that direct admission and extra points for IELTS candidates is a new policy. With 65% of the population being ethnic minorities, in the two years of implementation, only two students in Tuyen Quang met the IELTS requirements and were directly admitted to the English specialized class of a specialized school.

"However, the province maintains this policy to create a breakthrough in education," said Mr. Hien.

In response to concerns that students admitted directly with English certificates will study other subjects differently, Mr. Hien said the Department still monitors the results of students admitted using this method.

"The students are studying well, we temporarily assess that this plan is still effective. If there are any problems, the Department will consult with the province to make appropriate adjustments," Mr. Hien shared.

International language certificates, especially IELTS, have been popular in admissions from high school to university in recent years.

In addition to the above provinces, in Hanoi, the admission method using IELTS certificates is applied by many famous non-public schools such as Archimedes Academy, Nguyen Sieu, Le Quy Don, Luong The Vinh, Doan Thi Diem...

Meanwhile, Thai Nguyen supports 50-100% of exam fees for high school students with IELTS certificates from 4.0 to encourage foreign language learning.

Thanh Hang - Vo Thanh

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