The upcoming National High Graduation (NHG) exam will be carried out smoothly, said Education Minister Pham Vu Luan yesterday.
He promised that the NHG would be subject to transparency and
fairness, as will reforms to university and college entrance processes.
The Education Minister was in the hot seat at a session organized
yesterday by the National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education,
Youth and Children. The NA members agreed that any changes made to the
exam system must not cause confusion to the public, especially millions
of students and parents across the country.
Earlier this month, the Education Ministry announced its decision to
combine the annual NHG test with the university entrance exam, which
will determine if students graduate from high school and qualify for
admission to tertiary education at a university, college or vocational
training institution.
Minister Luan said his ministry was looking at organizing exam
centers for students at provincial and inter-provincial levels. For
students that only target graduating from high school, they can attend
exam centers at provincial level.
Those who wish to take the exam for university admission can attend
inter-provincial centers – facilities that serve students from several
provinces.
Minister Luan said the ministry would designate which university can
oversee, with the help of ministry inspectors, those inter-provincial
centers.
He said this would save cost and time for millions of students who
normally have to first take graduation exams at their localities, and
then go to major cities for university exam.
Universities and colleges will be told to publicise their plans on
how to use the exam results for enrollment before January 1 each year.
Under these reforms, universities would have more freedom for
determining admission criteria, which can include personal interviews,
talent exams, and written essays.
Professor Dao Trong Thi chairperson of the NA Youth Committee, said
the exam in 2015 will be crucial as the first test of the reform plan,
and noted that universities and colleges do not have to solely use the
score for admission purposes.
More than 1.1 million students sat for university entrance
examinations this past summer, competing for about 300,000 slots at
universities and colleges nationwide.
VNS/VNN