Hoai Thu, a 9th grade student in Phu Nhuan district, said she felt worried and nervous about the news that the Ministry of Education and Training is seeking comments on the draft Circular promulgating the Regulations on Secondary School and High School Admissions.
The draft Circular contains many new regulations on primary school admission. Among them, the content of this third subject will be selected by the Department of Education and Training and universities with high school level from subjects assessed by scores, including: Foreign Language 1, Civic Education, Natural Sciences, History and Geography, Technology, and Information Technology.
The third subject will not be fixed but will change every year, announced before March 31, to achieve the goal of comprehensive education, avoiding rote learning and biased learning.
According to Hoai Thu, Ho Chi Minh City has conducted the 10th grade entrance exam with 3 subjects: Math, Literature and Foreign Language for many years, therefore, the students' psychology as well as the school's teaching direction focuses on these 3 subjects for students to take the exam.
"If we change the foreign language to another subject and it is not announced until the end of March, we will feel a lot of pressure, because the gap from the end of March to the exam date is only about 2 months, and each student usually has strengths in different subjects, so there will not be enough time to review and supplement knowledge," said Hoai Thu.
Hoai Thu also said that currently, in addition to studying at school, she also attends 3 extra classes of Math, Literature and English at an outside center to prepare for the upcoming transfer exam. Therefore, with the above information, the female student plans to study 2 more subjects: Physics and Chemistry.
Ms. Anh Thu - a teacher in Thu Duc City also expressed concerns about the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Training.
Ms. Thu said that the Ministry of Education and Training's decision to allow localities to choose the third exam subject, but changing it every year, is basically similar to the previous lottery format that was proposed and withdrawn.
"The goal of the 10th grade exam is to stream and select students. Furthermore, we are aiming to achieve the goal of making English the second language in schools. Therefore, I think it is reasonable to keep the three subjects of Math, Literature and English as fixed subjects. This will help students learn more English," Ms. Thu shared.
At a press conference on the socio-economic situation in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of October 24, the Department of Education and Training said that it wanted to keep the 10th grade entrance exam stable as in previous years, including Math, Literature and Foreign Language, instead of the proposal to change the third subject every year.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that the professional department is synthesizing and making some recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Training in the near future.
According to the Department of Education and Training, the regulations should allow localities to take the initiative in choosing the third exam subject, in the spirit of ensuring comprehensive assessment of students according to the new general education program, in accordance with the economic and human resource development goals of each locality.
"Ho Chi Minh City's viewpoint on 10th grade enrollment in the 2025-2026 school year is to maintain the organization as in previous school years, based on reviewing and ensuring compliance with the regulations in the junior high school and high school entrance exam regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training," said a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.
Previously, in early October, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City also announced the structure and reference exam questions for admission to grade 10 for the 2025-2026 school year with 3 subjects: Math, Literature and English.
