Proposal to abolish university admission based on academic records: What do high school students say?

The Ministry of Education and Training is seeking opinions on the proposal to eliminate the university admission method based on academic records from 2026. This information has attracted the attention of many high school students, because this is currently the method with the highest percentage in university admission.

Grade 12 students have mixed opinions about the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Training to remove the university admission method based on academic records from 2026.

PHOTO: NGAN LE

According to the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training), in 2025, the entire university admission system recorded 7.6 million registration wishes with 17 different admission methods. Of which, 42.4% of candidates were admitted based on academic records, higher than the admission method based on high school graduation exam results (39.1%).

Worried about losing the "safe" ticket to university

Many students expressed their concern about the proposal to abolish the consideration of academic records for admission. For these students, considering academic records is not only a form of admission but also a recognition of their 12 years of studying efforts.

Vo Quang Nhut, a student at Lap Vo 2 High School ( Dong Thap ), said that removing the consideration of transcripts would be unfair to students who have a good academic record, good scores in all subjects, but are mentally "weak" and lack confidence in major exams.

In addition, Nhut also said that for students with difficult circumstances, removing the consideration of academic records also reduces the chances of admission, because many students are not eligible to take the competency assessment test (ĐGNL) or take the IELTS foreign language certificate exam.

“The academic transcript is like a ‘safe’ ticket for those who do not have the conditions to participate in other admission methods. In my province, very few students take the competency assessment test because the test site is too far away, they have to travel to Ho Chi Minh City or Can Tho to register for the test. Moreover, teachers in class almost never review or guide on the structure of the DGNL exam,” Nhut shared.

Nguyen Phuoc Huy Hoang, a student at Nguyen Dinh Chieu High School for the Gifted (Dong Thap), said the reason he chose high school was because he planned to use his transcript to apply to schools under the National University. In the near future, Hoang is planning to apply to the multimedia communications major at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University).

“I see that the media industry requires both high school transcripts and graduation scores to be extremely high, almost every subject in the group must have a score of over 9.5 to have a chance of passing. Classroom scores can be 'recovered' by many tests and exams, but the high school graduation exam score is only one. I am afraid that I will not achieve this wish,” Hoang expressed.

Not only students, some teachers also think that reviewing transcripts is a form of early admission, helping students have the opportunity to choose the right major and school.

Ms. Vo Thi Hang Ni, a teacher at Nguyen Dinh Chieu High School for the Gifted (Dong Thap), commented: “The admission scores based on transcripts at top universities are very high, from 27 to 29 points. If during high school, students are not serious and do not have enough capacity, it will be very difficult to achieve this score.”

According to Ms. Ni, if the admission method based on academic records is eliminated, the Ministry of Education and Training should consider using academic records as an additional point to the admission results, to recognize students' efforts.

Candidates for the 2025 high school graduation exam

PHOTO: D.NT

End the disease of achievement, create a fair playing field for candidates

Contrary to the concerns of many students about losing the opportunity to enter university, many opinions support the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Training. According to them, this is a necessary step to ensure fairness and limit the situation of "beautifying" academic records.

Vo Thi Bao Han, a student at Nguyen Thuong Hien High School (Tan Son Nhat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) expressed her agreement with the proposal to eliminate the consideration of transcripts for admission. According to Bao Han, in public schools, tests often have many advanced questions, and teachers evaluate more strictly, so it is very difficult to "beautify" transcripts.

“I think it is reasonable to remove the method of considering academic records. Each school has different test questions. If we rely on academic scores without a common assessment criteria, it will be disadvantageous for students from top schools,” the female student shared.

Similarly, Nguyen Phan Nhat Minh, a student at Tran Hung Dao High School (An Nhon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), said: "I think that reviewing transcripts sometimes does not reflect true abilities. In some schools, average students score above 9 points, while in other schools, good students only score 8 points. This will not create a fair playing field for us."

In addition, Nhat Minh also believes that maintaining the method of considering academic records is one of the reasons why the "achievement disease" in education appears more and more. Many students only focus on "plowing" points to have a good academic record or use many ways to "buy points" from teachers.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-xuat-bo-xet-tuyen-dh-bang-hoc-ba-hoc-sinh-thpt-noi-gi-185251001151449752.htm