Students hope for a suitable roadmap
The Ministry of Education and Training proposes to remove the maximum bonus of 3 points for excellent student awards, IELTS, and international certificates from 2027. Before this change, students want to have a suitable roadmap to proactively prepare.
Bui Bich Thao - a 12th-grade student at a high school in Dong Anh commune (Hanoi) - believes that changing enrollment regulations is necessary to be consistent with the general orientation, but students also need to be informed early about the criteria applied to their courses.
According to Thao, students spending time participating in excellent student exams or preparing for international certificates often takes a long process. Many students may have developed study plans based on the current enrollment regulations.
If policies change, students need to know early to have time to adjust their plans. The achievements that have been spent a lot of time achieving should also be recorded appropriately, so that students do not feel that their efforts are being ignored" - Bich Thao shared.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Manh Quan - a 10th-grade student at a high school in Vinh Thanh commune (Hanoi) - said that the early announcement of enrollment regulations will help students proactively orient themselves for the following school years.
According to Quan, students can choose many directions to prepare for the university entrance exam, from focusing on academic results, competency assessment exams to participating in excellent student exams or studying international certificates. Each choice requires preparation time, so if the regulations change suddenly, it will affect the psychology of candidates.
Teachers propose transition roadmap
From a teacher's perspective, Ms. Dang Hong Lien - a teacher at Co Loa High School (Hanoi) - believes that the proposal to remove bonus points has a positive aspect when aiming for fairness in admissions, and at the same time brings the excellent student exam back to its true meaning of encouraging students with abilities, love and in-depth investment in the subject.
However, according to Ms. Lien, if there are no more bonus points, there needs to be a suitable form of recognition to maintain motivation for students who spend a lot of time and effort on excellent student exams.
In fact, the process of participating in the team and preparing for excellent student exams requires students to invest a lot of time, while they still have to complete their studies and prepare for the high school graduation exam and university admission.
Changing the regulations if implemented immediately may first affect students' psychology. Students may be disappointed when the achievements they have invested effort in no longer bring advantages as before, and at the same time, they must recalculate their learning strategies and time spent on other admission criteria" - Ms. Lien assessed.
According to the female teacher, education needs stability and predictability so that students, parents and schools can prepare. Therefore, if bonus points are removed, building a transition period is necessary.
Ms. Lien believes that it is possible to consider applying the new regulations from 2028 and clearly announce them right from the beginning of high school. When students know in advance the regulations that will be applied to their courses, they will have more time to orient their studies and choose whether to participate in the excellent student team or not based on their abilities, interests and passions, instead of just looking at the advantage of bonus points when applying for university admission.
According to her, this approach also helps students understand that in-depth learning and participating in excellent student exams still have value in terms of knowledge and ability, even when achievements are no longer directly added to admission scores.
