VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has failed with its new exam scheme and proposed to organize two separate exams instead of a 2-in-1 exam scheme. 

One year ago, MOET decided to organize one national exam instead of two in separation – high school finals and university entrance exams – aiming to three goals – easing the pressure on students, saving money and time and choosing the best students for universities.

However, all three goals are unattainable. Educators and students have again proposed to resume the old exam mechanism with two separate exams. 

Van Nhu Cuong, president of Luong The Vinh High School, a renowned educator, noted that it was unreasonable to merge the two exams which have different targets. 

The high school finals’ aim is to find the students who have successfully finished general education. There is no limit on the number of students recognized as finishing general education.

Meanwhile, the university entrance exam aims to select the best students for universities. The number of students admitted to universities every year is fixed by MOET.

Cuong has proposed resuming the two-exam mechanism but ‘with a different angle’. 

He believes that it is necessary to organize two exams. However, the high school finals would be organized by local education departments, not MOET. Meanwhile, the university entrance exams would be organized by universities themselves. 

Dr. Lam Quang Thiep said in Tuoi Tre that MOET ‘should not take on too many jobs’ when organizing national exams, but it should allow local education departments and universities to do this.

“Schools should be given autonomy to run their operation, and they should be allowed to select the best students for themselves,” Thiep said.

An analyst commented that things have become ‘tangled like bamboo shavings’.

A 12th grader from Marie Curie High School in HCM City prefers the 2-in-1 exam exam because it doesn’t cost much time and money. He also said the questions in the 2015 exam were ‘within his power’. 

“The 2015 exam questions were reasonable. They were better than the easy questions in high school finals and difficult questions for university entrance exams,” he said.

Meanwhile, Huynh Anh Tuan, a parent in Cau Giay district in Hanoi, said it would be better to eliminate high school finals and organize only one national exam to enter university.
“It is no use to organize high school finals. At least 100 percent of students will surely pass the finals, won’t they?” he said.

Thanh Mai