Proposal to add vocational school admission option when taking 10th grade exam

On September 19, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City coordinated with the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to organize a conference to review 1 year of implementing the joint program on orientation and vocational education for secondary and high school students in the period 2023 - 2025.

At the conference, many delegates pointed out the reality as well as the reasons why the work of streamlining and orienting vocational education in Ho Chi Minh City has not yet achieved the expected results.

Mr. Dang Van Dai, Principal of Dong Sai Gon Secondary School, said that in career counseling sessions, each school has its own strengths, which makes students confused and unable to concentrate. From his experience in counseling, Mr. Dai said that teachers who do career education at high schools are not professional and need to be trained and developed further. Moreover, the organization of career counseling at schools is not centralized.

Many opinions were given at the conference.

Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Vice President of the Vocational Education Association, acknowledged that although the streaming work has shown positive signs, the streaming counseling work still has many limitations, causing Ho Chi Minh City to not achieve its set targets. Schools do not have a specialized force for career counseling for students. Teachers are not professionally trained to provide career guidance, and the counseling team lacks practical experience in the career guidance process...

At the conference, Mr. Dai proposed that in the upcoming 10th grade exam, the Department of Education and Training should consider adding more options to vocational schools. In addition to the three familiar options, the fourth option is a list of vocational schools for students to choose from. This will partly help 9th grade homeroom teachers and junior high schools grasp the information to effectively guide students in need.

A representative of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education also said that career counseling, guidance, and organizing experiential activities in high schools play an important role in helping students orient their careers. However, in reality, implementation still faces many difficulties, from the workload for teachers to the lack of facilities...

Many delegates pointed out the reasons why the work of streamlining and vocational education orientation has not met expectations.

Speaking at the conference, Ms. Tran Thi Dieu Thuy - Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee said that according to the annual enrollment report of vocational education institutions, the average rate of junior high school graduates enrolling in vocational education levels is about 26.19% per year. Thus, according to the target of the project approved by the Prime Minister, Ho Chi Minh City still has a long way to go, however, the socio-economic conditions of the city are different from other provinces.

Signing ceremony of cooperation between the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City and VNU-HCM City

Ms. Thuy suggested that units need to focus on specific propaganda work, career guidance propaganda, propaganda for teachers and parents about vocational training and choosing suitable careers, along with appropriate streams according to the conditions and circumstances of each student. The Department of Education and Training must create conditions for vocational schools to access and participate equally in enrollment programs.

"We stream and guide students to choose a career, but when it comes to vocational schools, all schools have limited facilities, and few schools focus on investment. If the school is not attractive, how can parents choose it? We provide vocational training, but the machinery is from 20 years ago, how can it be attractive to businesses...." - Ms. Thuy said.

According to Ms. Thuy, vocational skills are very important. "Students who finish grade 9 are transferred to vocational schools and then graduate with a diploma. When they graduate, they are only 18 years old, which is too young, so when they enter the labor market, many businesses feel worried. Therefore, vocational skills, labor skills, and work skills are very necessary. I suggest that schools pay attention to this issue so that businesses can be assured of the generation that ensures the quality of the profession as well as work skills.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tp-hcm-de-xuat-co-them-nguyen-vong-vao-truong-nghe-khi-thi-lop-10-196240919192209897.htm