According to the draft Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of circulars promulgating regulations on determining the number of enrollment, training programs, enrollment and college training for preschool, university and postgraduate education, many new points are proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training.
In the appendix attached to the Draft Circular, the Ministry of Education and Training proposes that the list of codes for university admission methods in 2027 will only have 11 instead of 19 methods as in the old regulations.
Some methods proposed to continue to be used include: Admission based on high school graduation exam results, transcript scores, combined admission, using the results of the common entrance exam of training institutions, the separate exam of the training institution, international certificates of eligibility...
Compared to the system of 19 admission methods in 2026, the list of 11 expected methods for 2027 tends to be streamlined and gather methods with similar natures.
Some basic methods are still retained such as considering high school graduation exam results (code 100), considering transcripts (code 200), direct admission (code 300), but adding separate exam and academic results of THN program graduates with codes 101 and 201.
The competency assessment group, thinking assessment, cultural exam, V-SAT and the use of the results of these exams are mainly condensed into two groups: the common entrance exam of training institutions (401) and the separate exam of the training institution (402).
Notably, many separate combination methods in 2026 such as high school graduation exam scores combined with aptitude tests, transcripts, international certificates or interviews are streamlined to code 500 - a combination method, instead of being separated into many codes.
The method of using international certificates is also returned to code 490.
In addition, the method for high school graduates of foreign programs is determined by code 600, while other methods are changed from code 500 to code 700.
A new point that is receiving many opinions is that the Ministry of Education and Training proposes that each major and training program, from 2027, can use a maximum of 3 methods and from 2028, there will be only 1 method. According to current regulations, training institutions are allowed to use a maximum of 5 enrollment methods.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Thao - Director of the Higher Education Department, this is a roadmap for each major to choose the most appropriate assessment method, not a policy of requiring all schools and majors across the country to use a single result.
From 2022-2026, only 36.4% of the total number of training programs have official comparison bases; transcript scores in the same major code are far higher than high school graduation exam scores; over 2,000 training programs enroll students with differences between methods from 3 points or more. When the scales are not really equivalent, dividing one major into multiple admission doors may make candidates with the same ability treated differently.
Mr. Thao said that reducing methods is to expand equal opportunities, not to reduce access opportunities. Each method must ensure that all qualified candidates can participate, clearly announce criteria and use a common score scale. Training institutions are responsible for selecting methods suitable for the input requirements of the training program.
The Ministry of Education and Training is seeking opinions on this draft until the end of September 23, 2026. The new Circular is expected to take effect from January 1, 2027.
