Giving candidates the right to be proactive and opening up opportunities to enter university

All of the above issues have been promptly answered by Minister Pham Vu Luan to the people on the media with a frank and open-minded spirit.

Innovation in the right direction and in the spirit of learning

The National High School Exam ended with many very positive reviews and assessments. As an insider, directly making decisions and devoting much effort to the innovative exam, how does the Minister evaluate the recent exam?

- We have just held a conference to summarize the 2014-2015 school year, with the participation of many central ministries, departments, branches, directors of the Department of Education and Training, and Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committees in charge of culture and society.

The conference's assessment also agreed with the reflections in the media, that the organization of the exam has become progressive, lighter, simpler, more economical, more serious, and more reliable.

We are still continuing to process and monitor the situation. On the one hand, we encourage teachers in the entire system, both universities and high schools, to continue to overcome difficulties, proactively take on the hardships to create maximum convenience for candidates, helping them have enough information to consider and make extremely important decisions in their first steps in life, when entering the post-secondary environment.

The technical solutions we have deployed throughout the process as well as newly added in the past few days to create conditions for remote areas are operating well and the work is under control and as planned.

We know for sure that the first year of implementation will not be smooth and perfect, and we will have to learn deeply to supplement solutions.

Dear Minister, what will happen if next year, many universities and colleges organize their own admissions and do not use the results of the national high school exam for admission?

- According to the Law on University Education, enrollment is under the autonomy of universities and colleges. The Ministry of Education and Training encourages and supports schools to implement their own enrollment methods.

Currently, due to the actual conditions of Vietnamese universities, besides some schools that have been established for many years and have the conditions to organize their own admissions, there are still many schools that do not have the conditions or capacity to organize exams.

Admission experience of developed countries, entrance exams are organized at independent testing centers, universities use these exam results for admission. The admission method applied by the Ministry of Education and Training is currently following that direction. This is also the spirit of Resolution 29.

Give candidates the initiative to decide

Some parents have reported that they are worried and tired of constantly having to monitor information from universities and check the status of application submissions. What does the Minister think about the above feedback and is there any way to overcome this problem?

- When I took the university entrance exam more than 40 years ago, there was no information at all. Each student, which group to take the exam, which university was decided by the Admissions Council.

Later, in the renovation period, we gave students the right to choose the exam block and the school they registered for. To choose, students had to start calculating and considering which block they excelled in, which school they were suitable for... Although they were worried, it was a worry for progress.

Receiving those concerns and reflections from society and with the development of information technology, thoroughly grasping the spirit of Resolution 29 that all activities are directed towards the development and formation of students' capacity and qualities, creating maximum convenience for students in all their work and gradually practicing considering, choosing and deciding on work related to themselves, we decided to announce not only the exam results but also the combination of scores of the exam blocks.

At the same time, update and publish information on the status of candidates' applications to schools so that candidates regularly know where they stand on the application list of the school they want to attend.

Before, the children were worried but had no solution to change, just worried and accepted the results, relying on the initial registration which was a matter of luck.

Now, worry, but have information to calculate, consider, change, to make decisions that are appropriate to the general situation and within your ability. And so, parents also worry to support their children in calculating.

I think it is an innovation, a necessary concern for candidates to get results commensurate with their efforts and academic achievements, and at the same time, in line with the general level. Schools also choose good students to study.

This year, the first time organizing the innovation exam, we are not used to it, so there are still things that are not as expected. We will gradually learn from experience to change.

The second concern is that updating information is difficult, and the work of schools may not be synchronized or coordinated. We always closely monitor this, encourage the sense of responsibility of schools, mobilize the Department of Education and Training, and general schools to support and help; at the same time, we also have technical tools to handle each specific situation, minimizing the anxiety of parents and students.

Despite his busy schedule, Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan still spends a lot of time answering questions and concerns from the public about enrollment. Photo: Minister Pham Vu Luan at an online exchange program at Dan Tri newspaper on the morning of August 14.

Difficulties in admission have been overcome.

It is true that with the new exam method and the transparency of information, the chances of candidates entering universities and colleges have increased. But, is there a disadvantage for candidates in remote, disadvantaged areas when their conditions for obtaining information are much worse than those of candidates in advantaged areas, Minister?

- It is true that students in remote, isolated and disadvantaged areas are at a disadvantage compared to students in big cities and areas with developed socio-economic conditions. That is also reflected in the access to information to register for admission this time.

To overcome these difficulties and support students in remote areas, the Ministry of Education and Training has implemented a series of measures. Specifically, it has directed the Education and Times newspaper and a number of other media outlets to print newspapers and continuously update enrollment information for students.

Second solution, we have updated the software so that students can change their wishes at the high schools where they study, or at the local Department of Education and Training.

With the support software, the candidate's registration changes will be immediately accepted by the old school, bringing the candidate back to the new status, free for them to register at the school they wish to add later.

We also directed the Departments of Education and Training, as well as high schools and teachers to open the network to regularly update information and provide information to students, advise and guide students to choose the wishes that are suitable for their personal and general situation.

Currently, the operation of these software is very good and under control. Many children from remote provinces, the Northwest, the Central Highlands... have gone online and changed their wishes right from where they live. Therefore, the difficulties have been overcome.

Towards computerizing most of the admissions stages

Dear Minister, can we computerize the entire admission process? This can certainly help overcome problems in admission like this year?

- The application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education and training is an inevitable trend and is increasingly promoted in the practice of education and training in Vietnam. ICT has also been increasingly widely applied in exams, especially in the national high school exam.

However, to successfully apply ICT with high efficiency, in addition to the human factor, ICT infrastructure is very important and sometimes plays a decisive role.

In fact, the ICT infrastructure of Vietnamese universities and colleges is very uneven and cannot meet the needs of all candidates and parents nationwide. Especially if these tasks take place at the same time.

Furthermore, due to socio-economic conditions in different regions, access to ICT is limited, so it cannot be deployed simultaneously throughout the system.

The Ministry of Education and Training encourages qualified universities and colleges to implement online registration. Currently, many schools use this form.

Along with the development of the national economy, the application of ICT in enrollment will become more and more extensive, aiming to computerize most stages in the enrollment process.

Thank you very much Minister!

According to Education and Times