Vietnam 12th Graders to Take Only 1 Test for Graduation & University Next Year

Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training has announced that 12th graders will take just one examination for both high school graduation and university entrance exam next June, instead of taking two separate exams per the current practice. The national 2-in-1 exam would apply from 2015. To graduate from high school and get admitted into college or university, students of grade 12 will have to take a test in three required subjects namely mathematics, literature, a foreign language, and one elective which is either chemistry, physics, biology, history or geography. In addition to the four tests, students will be able to take more tests of other subjects to have greater chance of being admitted into their preferred universities or colleges. Those who graduated from high schools in previous years just take tests on the subjects needed to gain admission into a certain university. Students who do not study foreign languages at high school can pick any of the electives as an alternative for testing. Those holding foreign language proficiency certificates recognized by the ministry will be exempted from the test on foreign language. The education departments in provinces and cities use the test results of the four subjects and the academic records of 12th graders to issue high school diplomas. By January every year, universities, colleges and academies will be required to announce their admission requirements and methods to use the national exam results to enroll students. However, local scholars are concerned over wrongdoings as schoolchildren would be largely fraudulent at the exams. (english.thesaigontimes.vn Sept 11)