Ministry of Education and Training still intervenes in the third subject

THIRD SUBJECT NOT TO BE EXAMINED FOR MORE THAN 3 CONSECUTIVE YEARS

The Ministry of Education and Training has just finalized the regulations for admission to junior high school and high school, which stipulates that the same third subject cannot be selected for more than 3 consecutive years. Accordingly, there are 3 methods of admission to grade 10 of high school: entrance exam, selection or a combination of entrance exam and selection. The selection of the admission method is under the authority of the locality.

Candidates after the English exam, the third exam of the 10th grade entrance exam in 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City. In 2025, this locality will continue to conduct 3 exams for 10th grade as in previous years.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Regarding the entrance exam method for grade 10 high school, the circular generally stipulates the implementation of 3 subjects and exams, including: math, literature and a third subject or exam selected by the Department of Education and Training.

Notably, the regulations stipulate that the third exam subject is selected from among the subjects that are evaluated by scores in the general education program at the secondary level, ensuring that the same third exam subject is not selected for more than 3 consecutive years. The third exam subject or the combined exam of a number of subjects is announced after the end of the first semester but no later than March 31 every year.

The third exam is a combined exam of a number of subjects selected from among the subjects assessed by scores in the general secondary education program. For high schools under the Ministry of Education and Training, universities, colleges, and research institutes that organize their own entrance exams, the third exam or a combined exam of a number of remaining subjects is selected by the Ministry of Education and Training, universities, colleges, and research institutes directly managed by them.

Thus, compared to the draft requesting public opinion in October 2024, the officially issued regulations have been slightly adjusted. Instead of requiring the selection of the third exam subject to change over the years to achieve the goal of comprehensive education in the basic education stage as in the draft, the official regulations specify that the third exam subject must be changed every 3 years at most.

The Ministry of Education and Training believes that the new regulations have the effect of promoting comprehensive educational activities, initially preparing students with the qualities and abilities to be qualified to study at higher levels or to be able to learn a profession according to career orientation and streaming. In addition, the exam subjects and admission methods must also be linked to the process of regular testing and assessment with periodic testing and assessment; in line with the trend of innovation.

After learning about the new regulations, a teacher commented: "The regulations on the third subject are very half-hearted. If a locality only wants to test English as the third subject and does not want to "break the law", it can test English for 3 consecutive years, then in the fourth year, test another subject (lighter like civic education), then continue to test English for 3 years and... wait for the Ministry to amend the regulations."

Speaking with Thanh Nien reporters, a representative of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that based on this regulation, the department will develop a plan for 10th grade enrollment and a plan for the third exam subject of the next school year, and submit it to the City People's Committee for consideration and approval.

B ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE POINTS PROGRAM

The new regulations also change the bonus point policy for students taking the entrance exam to grade 10 public schools. The Ministry of Education and Training stipulates an incentive bonus of 0.5 - 1.5 points for excellent students who win provincial-level prizes organized by the Department of Education and Training or in coordination with departments and branches organized on a provincial scale for national-level competitions.

Specifically, first prize winners will receive 1.5 points, second prize winners will receive 1 point, and third prize winners will receive 0.5 points. The incentive points will be added to the total admission score calculated on a 10-point scale for each subject and exam.

For many years, the Ministry of Education and Training has eliminated the bonus points for students who won provincial and city prizes. However, when adding this bonus point system to the new regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training also noted that although bonus points are given to students who won provincial prizes, they are only given to competitions organized at the national level. Thus, competitions for excellent students in cultural subjects such as math, literature, foreign languages, etc. organized by the Department of Education and Training are not competitions that will be organized at the national level, so even if students win prizes, they will not receive bonus points for grade 10.

Secondary school students who win national prizes organized by the Ministry of Education and Training or in coordination with ministries and ministerial-level agencies on a national scale for cultural, artistic and sports competitions, contests, and competitions; scientific and technical research competitions; Secondary school students who win prizes in international competitions selected by the Minister of Education and Training will be admitted directly to grade 10.

According to the newly issued regulations, the entrance exam for grade 10 high school consists of 3 subjects and tests, including: math, literature and a third subject or test selected by the Department of Education and Training.

photo: peach jade

He published the benchmark scores at the same time as the exam scores.

According to the new regulations, the admission score for grade 10 is the total score of the subjects and exams calculated on a 10-point scale for each subject and exam, but the regulations do not specifically stipulate the coefficients of the subjects and leave it to the locality to decide.

Notably, the regulation requires that the announcement of benchmark scores be made simultaneously with the announcement of exam scores. For a long time, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have announced exam scores first and then announced benchmark scores. The leader of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that to implement this regulation, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training must certainly discuss and research the most suitable way. Hanoi has the characteristic that in addition to high schools managed by the department, there are many high schools under universities, and the enrollment of these schools also affects the determination of benchmark scores of high schools by the department.

Time to do the test for each subject

Regarding the exam time, the circular stipulates: Literature 120 minutes; Math 90 minutes or 120 minutes; Third exam 60 minutes or 90 minutes; Combined exam 90 minutes or 120 minutes. The exam content is within the general secondary education program, mainly grade 9.

Ho Chi Minh City maintains 10th grade exam with 3 subjects as previous years

On January 8, Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, officially informed Thanh Nien about the regulations on admission to grade 10 for the 2025-2026 school year after the Ministry of Education and Training issued the regulations on admission to junior high school and high school.

According to regulations, after the Ministry issues the regulations, the Department of Education and Training will develop a plan for enrolling first-grade classes, including 6th and 10th grade enrollment, to submit to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for approval, expected to be issued in February.

Regarding the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year, Mr. Minh said that Ho Chi Minh City's viewpoint is to maintain the organization as in previous school years, on the basis of reviewing and ensuring compliance with the regulations on junior high school and high school entrance exams of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Specifically, for many years now, the 10th grade entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City has had 3 compulsory subjects: math, literature, foreign language (in which candidates mainly take the English exam) if they register for the regular 10th grade and specialized and integrated subjects if they register for the specialized and integrated 10th grade.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, choosing a foreign language as the third subject ensures psychological stability and is consistent with the career orientation goals of all students due to the consistent characteristics of the 2018 General Education Program. At the same time, choosing a foreign language meets the goals set by the Politburo in Conclusion 91-KL/TW on gradually making English the second language in schools and aiming for learners with the tendency to become global citizens in the future.

In the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year, the Department of Education and Training will continue to resolutely innovate the exam questions in the direction of assessing students' abilities. However, the exam questions in the direction of assessing learners' abilities will be shown more clearly by Ho Chi Minh City, in accordance with the orientation of the 2018 General Education Program.

Bich Thanh

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chot-quy-che-thi-vao-lop-10-bo-gd-dt-van-can-thiep-mon-thu-ba-185250108205902597.htm